Boys golf season preview

Mid-Suburban West standout Barrington will look to return to the state championship tourney for the fourth straight year but will have to overcome the loss of a stellar group of seniors that included last year's third-place state medalist Ross Frankenberg (two-day total of 139 at the Den in 2008). Juniors Marc Ackermann, Nick Schiavi and Johnny McNulty will lead the charge this year.

"We're a young team, but we've got some really talented players." said Broncos coach Mike Kallenbach. "We're rather inexperienced, so we'll have some ups and downs."

Meadows goes camping: Mid-Suburban East stalwart Rolling Meadows and coach Todd Schaap instituted a summer "Ryder Cup" golf camp to keep his players participating and getting prepared for the varsity season. Mustangs senior Sean Rowader led "Team Europe" against Team USA and senior Mark Paliliunas in the matches at Makray Memorial Golf Course.

"I decided that in order to be competitive," said Schaap, "we needed to keep students golfing year round."

Meadows will count on high level performances from Rowader (who scored a hole-in-one on a par 4 at Makray), captain Paliliunas and junior Ryan Kulpins to stay in the hunt.

A different course: Fremd has changed its home course from Palatine Hills to Hilldale Golf Course (Hoffman Estates) this season, and coach Josh Teschner thinks that will help the chances of the Vikings.

"It's a much tougher track," said Teschner. "The better greens at Hilldale will help us to prepare for the rigors of the state series."

Senior Sean Jones, eighth at the state tournament the last two years, will return to lead the Vikes, while senior Chris Ramirez (a three-year varsity standout) and junior Brad Beutler (third in conference in 2008) will be players to watch.

Other local teams

Buffalo Grove: Seniors Matt Love (captain), Andrew Ly, Jackson Nowak and Scott Jurinak return to lead a tournament-tested squad. "We've got some experience this year," said Bison coach Peter Duffer. "We'll battle."

Elk Grove: Seniors Ken Kane and Mitch Carpenter and junior Adam Dill will be back to carry the Grenadiers' mantle. "We've got a strong group of seniors," said EG coach Mike Meyer.

Hersey: Huskies coach Dan Caporusso will count on juniors Ryan Starkman and Kevin Brawley as well as seniors Kevin Snodgrass and Andrew Birschbach. "They're a young group," said Caporusso, "but they've worked very hard and they have a lot of enthusiasm. I can see them getting better every week."

Prospect: The top returnees for the Knights are junior Jimi Poulos (team low average in 2008) and senior co-captain Matt Maloney. "Both Jimi and Matt have improved and have turned in good performances in their IJGA summer tournaments," said Knights coach Tom Martindale. "We're really looking forward to this season."

Wheeling: The young Wildcats will pin its 2009 hopes on returning player Michael Taylor, a sophomore who earned all-conference honors last year, as well as junior Dan Kubeck and senior Matt Kubeck. "We've also got some good prospects in a couple of freshman, Jack Ferguson and Zack Nauert," said Wheeling coach Mark Menich.

Leyden: The Eagles look to continue their recent upward swing (9-1 in last year's duals) behind top senior returnee Karl Kowall. "Karl has worked hard this winter in the golf dome," said coach Steven Siekierski. "His easy going demeanor suits him well on the course." Leyden will miss Konrad Deka, who advanced to the state tourney last season as a senior. "Our success this year," said Siekierski, "will be determined by improvement throughout the season."

Maine West: Evan Haase (all conference, sectional qualifier last season) and Kyle Hecker (two-time sectional qualifier) will be the mainstays for the Warriors this season. "We'd like to finish in the top half of our conference again this year," said West coach Mike Godlewski. "We want to defend our Grant title and finish with a winning record. We feel that we've got a great 1-2 punch in Evan and Kyle and we're looking forward to 5 or 6 other golfers stepping up."

Conant: Mike Stanley, Kyle Severinsen and sophomore Josh Yoo (brother of girls state champion Kris Yoo) will be the Cougar leaders in 2009. "We should be very competitive," said Conant coach Jerry Song. "We have three players that can shoot in the 70s. If we can get that fourth score in the low 80s our team will be able to compete with anyone."

Hoffman Estates: Senior Brett Meihls, a regional advancer in 2008, and senior David Krzepicki will be the Hawks team leaders this season. "We look to work hard and be competitive," said Hoffman coach Dave Grabarek. "Consistency is our keyword this season. In order for us to have success we'll need consistency out of everyone."

Palatine: Senior Brad Ferris, who missed advancing to the state tournament by 1 stroke in 2008, will head up an experienced, talented group of golfers that will include senior Ryan Falkenburg and juniors Brian Bartyzel and Cully Leverenz.

Schaumburg: The Saxons will count on a senior-laden lineup of Tommy Grammas, Andy Keehn, John Inendino and Tim Hugo, with junior Scott Meschinig expected to contribute as well.

- Bill Esbrook