Rough exits for Bazarnik, Fremd duo as New Trier takes title
There was plenty of high drama, both on and off the tennis courts Saturday afternoon, to keep an enthusiastic and jam-packed audience in Arlington Heights focused on the play and scoreboard as the race for the team title heated up along with the temperature.
Defending state singles champion Blake Bazarnik did not return to the championship match on this day following a straight-set loss in the semifinals, then suffered from dehydration during his third-place match, abruptly ending a brilliant four-year career.
Kenta Shimizu-Ryan Kreis (Fremd), who had stunned one of the state's best tandems Friday with a thrilling comeback, nearly did so again, only to fall short in their third-place match with New Trier.
New Trier junior Robert Stineman added to this suspense-filled day when, after capturing the singles crown over Tim Kopinski of Stagg at the same moment Jared Hiltzik-Calvin Mang defeated Fremd, the Trevians pulled ahead of Hinsdale Central for good.
Hinsdale Central's Ian Tesmond-Dan Ballantine won a second straight state doubles title, but it wasn't enough for the Red Devils as the Trevians won the team trophy by a single point.
Bazarnik (28-5) was taken to nearby Northwest Community Hospital after he failed to answer the call for his third set with Deerfield sophomore Jason Brown. According to Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope, who was with his team captain and his family in the emergency room, Bazarnik was recovering quickly.
"Blake is feeling much better, and just having a lot of liquids being pumped into him," said Stanhope, who saw one of the elite players during the past four years struggle in his game midway through the second set with Brown and throughout the tiebreaker, as he lacked the usual pace and energy that have become his signature.
"Blake just didn't look right to us during the last couple (of switch-overs) and in was apparent that he physically and mentally was having a very tough time," said Deerfield coach Josh Leighton. "It's a tough way to end a career for a player which so many of us hold in such high esteem, and a player who has played the game like it's supposed to be played - with pride, passion and great sportsmanship.
"It's why they have the Pitchford Award every year to honors kids like (Blake) and why he probably won it this spring."
Bazarnik shared the prestigious honor along with Warren senior Paul Schlais, as well as Metamora class valedictorian and state cross country runner-up Stephan Rauh.
The Patriots' captain may have been feeling the effects early on when a dominant Stineman seemingly did whatever he wanted in their semifinal match to win 6-1, 6-0. Bazarnik rarely flashed his vintage forehand and overall court game.
"It was just one of those matches where everything was working and going right for me, and not for Blake. That's all," said Stineman, who opened up against Kopinski with a 6-1 first-set victory before holding off the hard-charging 32-champ in a tiebreaker (2) to give the Trevians their first singles title since 1989, when current coach Tad Eckert won it all.
Shimizu-Kreis (32-6) became the first doubles team from the Mid-Suburban League to finish in the top four after dropping their semifinal match to eventual runner-up Highland Park (David Zak-Zach Brint) 6-1, 7-6 (5), then Hiltzik-Mang (4-6, 6-1, 6-3).
"There really feeling bad after losing two matches in a row to end their tournament and high school careers, but I told them, 'Hey, guys, who still finished fourth in the state?' " said upbeat Fremd coach Ken Goettsche, whose team became the fourth from the MSL since 2000 to earn a top-four finish.
Jason Hanschmann and Mario Bialek (Palatine) were the last to do so, when they were led by then-coach Josh Leighton to a third-place medal in 2004. That came after back-to-back 4th place finishes by Barrington's KR Kaeser-Adam Morgan and Joel Petrick-Adam Morgan in 2000 and 2001.
"Those guys have so much to be proud of, and after the disappointment of those two losses goes away, they will realize what they have accomplished against terrific competition and talent, and after entering the tournament as a 9-16 seed," Goettsche said.
The Vikings would probably like to replay their match with Highland Park. The Fremd duo roared back after a less than sparkling first-set loss to build a 5-1 lead in the second set before slowly watching their advantage fade away.
"I really thought if we got into a third set with them that we could pull off another surprise today, but we just let it slip away, one game at a time," said Shimizu, who was a two-time state qualifier at singles for the Vikings.
"It's so hard to finish anyone off at this time of the tournament, and with so much at stake," said HP's Brint. "When we got to 5-3, I felt our confidence beginning to grow, and theirs maybe starting go away a little bit."
The Giants' second-place finish not only gives coach Steve Rudman his seventh straight top-four finish at doubles, but it also ensured a fourth place finish overall in the team standings, 1 point ahead of Stevenson at 27-26.
Oak Park-River Forest grabbed third place with 28 points, while Deerfield (25) edged Central Suburban rival Glenbrook South (23) for sixth place honors.
MSL co-champs Barrington and Fremd represented the conference well after the Broncos would share 14th with two others and the Vikings the same in 18th place.