Boys tennis: Scouting Northwest
Teams to watch
Fremd: The Vikings completed a remarkable 2009 season when they lifted the big trophy above all others at the MSL tournament to outlast long-time division rival Barrington. The bad news for the Broncos, and the rest of the league, is the Vikings depth runs so far, it has allowed coach Ken Goettsche to place the reigning MSL champ at No. 1 singles (Kenta Shimizu) together with No. 2 singles champion Ryan Kreis at No. 1 doubles, taking advantage of all the extra talent on his roster to help fill-out his lineup card. "We like to think of ourselves as the favorite (as of today) but we'll wait to see how things shake down as the season goes on," said Goettsche, who lost top doubles player Nick Mackowecki (ACL) recently. Rookie Maciej Niemczyk begins the season as the Vikings' top singles player, while former No. 2 dubs (Ryosuke Miyawaki) takes over at No. 2.
Hersey: Move over MSL East, there's a new dog in town. Unable to overtake rival Prospect the past couple of seasons, Huskies coach Brenna Ohlson has assembled a terrific quartet of players which appear ready to gain the upper hand of the long-time division champion this spring. "Eric is clearly our No. 1, but we also have three others (Yuki Chiba, Kevin Amarantos, Derek Allbright) who give us plenty of options in our lineup for our duals, and tournaments," said Ohlson, who might pair Chiba and Amarantos on weekends after playing together in USTA winter tournaments.
Barrington: Broncos lost nearly their entire team at doubles to graduation, however, things are still looking up for the almost optimistic John Roncone, who enters the 2010 campaign with his youngest overall club in years. "We've got 5-6 kids who are either freshmen or sophomores, but their energy and desire to succeed is the type of thing we can build off of," offered the Broncos head coach. Back are state qualifiers George Coll (singles) and Jim Deroche (doubles) who teams with Joe Gasior, while freshmen Varun Parekh appears ready to handle the No. 2 singles spot in the lineup. "Fremd is a talented team, and until someone can beat them, they're the team to beat."
St. Viator: After their memorable state tournament run last season, Taylor Blaney and Dean Tanglis will begin the year at doubles, with the hope of going even further after surprising the field at 4-2 overall a year ago. The duo will forsake playing singles during the regular season for coach Dan Tripamer, who will go with sophomores Joe Nowakowski and Dan Desio at Nos. 1 and 2, while the seniors stay together all throughout, including the school's first appearance at the Pitchford. "It makes too much sense to have them go right from the start (at) doubles," said Tripamer, of his top team which was closed out in 3 sets by Highland Park and one round away from medal contention.
Prospect: Defending MSL East champions lost plenty, yet retain one of the best doubles teams in Jon Kiefer-Sam Pope (21-6), who were eliminated in their state qualifying match with Palatine at the Stevenson sectional.
Sensational singles
With the expected move of Shimuzu to doubles over at Fremd, the field at No. 1 thins slightly, leaving Klawitter (24-6) and junior Izzi Balase, as the two all others will chase, in a crowded and talented group this spring.
Balase, a state qualifier during his rookie season, has won over 60 matches in his two seasons with Schaumburg, finishing second to Shimuzu at the MSL tournament a year ago, before falling just short in his bid to advance to the state tournament.
Balase would drop a heart-breaking 3-set match to Brian Levitas of Glenbrook North 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in his state qualifier at his own sectional, but the affable Saxons' star didn't dwell on the defeat, instead moving forward in his quest to fly higher this season.
"I was really disappointed after that loss, and it stayed with me for a couple of days, but then I got right back to work to become the best player that I can be," said Balase.
A new coach, an emphasis on getting stronger physically and tactically, and working to get the mental part of his game at peak performance, appears to have been just what the doctor ordered.
"My expectations for the postseason have to be winning a conference title, finishing in the top two at sectionals, and a top eight finish at the state tournament."
Klawitter got all of the necessary inspiration to improve his game when his season ended at the Stevenson sectional last May when he was bounced from the tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat in his state qualifier match with Patriots star Etham Frenkel.
"Yes, (that) sectional was particularly tough with Kenta, Frenkel, Michael Redlicki, and Bazarnik, of course, but I found out that day that in order to compete with the best, I had to (be) able to go out and hit the ball harder, and with more consistency, than I ever had before," said Klawitter, who in his first two seasons at Hersey played doubles, before moving to the top position for Ohlson.
"I saw Eric play at the Midwest (designated) a few weeks ago, and he was playing excellent tennis," offers Ohlson.
"His ability to dissect his opponent's game is exceptional, and I am very proud of how hard he has worked in the offseason to improve his overall game."
"I am excited about our team this season, and if we all continue to work hard all throughout, and play smart tennis, we should be right there at the end for a chance at a division title, and maybe conference championship as well."
Court dates
April 10: Benet-Downers Grove South Team Tournament: This 8-team guest list sparkles with Barrington, Hinsdale Central, Deerfield and New Trier, not to mention the host clubs, as well as Moline and Naperville North.
April 17: Huskie/Knights Invite: MSL clubs Barrington, Hersey and Prospect will have their hands full with CSL power Highland Park, and Oak Park-River Forest.
Deerfield Quad: Fremd battles the host Warriors, in addition to Stevenson and Lake Forest in a 4 singles, 5 doubles format.
April 24: Hinsdale Central Invite. Potential preview of top 3 at state tournament with New Trier, Deerfield and host Red Devils fighting it out.
April 30/May 1: The Pitchford 32: The who's who of boys tennis, which provides the setting for nearly every top singles and doubles players the chance to make an impression on not only their counterparts, but also the seeding committee in advance of the state tournament, which takes place four weeks from the famed 32.
State side
When the 2009 state tournament drew to a close, only 3 points separated the top 3 teams (Hinsdale Central, Stevenson, New Trier) while leaving fans thirsting for more in anticipation of this year's tournament, and the potential for yet another photo finish.
But this is unlikely to happen. Stevenson's top doubles team, and state runners-up, Ross Putterman-David Packowitz are not returning for their junior season, instead moving over to the club circuit to improve their USTA ranking, while New Trier star, Andrew Scholnick is doing the same.
New Trier should be able to absorb the loss of Scholnick, but not so for Stevenson, despite the return of state singles champ Blake Bazarnik, and Richard Brej, who comes back after spending his junior year away from the club.
Hinsdale Central, however, is fully loaded and ready for a fourth straight title, this time under new head coach John Naisbitt, who takes over for Jay Kramer, who retired last spring after 50 years at the helm. The Red Devils welcome back 5 starters, including state doubles champions Dan Ballantine-Ian Tesmond, as well as 3-time state qualifiers Augie Bloom and Krishna Ravella.
As daunting as Central appears, in the shadows of both clubs might well be Deerfield,
which features a pair of 9-16 state seeds (Ben Shkylar, Jason Brown), Alec Siegel, back from a one-year hiatus after training in Florida last season, state doubles qualifiers (Kevin Friend-Tyler Borzak) and a talented freshmen in Toby Ma, who will give former Palatine head coach Josh Leighton plenty of options every weekend.
"I think we're right on target (this) season, and I really believe we can give both Central and New Trier a run for (it) all," said Leighton, who will have three chances to gauge the Warriors progress against the big 2 at the Benet/DGS Invite, Hinsdale Central Invite and one week later at the 32.
Bazarnik is the early favorite to repeat, but not without a push from Robert Stineman (New Trier), Ben Hoogland (Glenbrook South) or Bloom.