Scouting Fox Valley boys tennis
Bartlett Hawks
Coach: Kris Peters (1st season)
Top returning players: Jeff Bayram, Richard Bayram, Tommy Gladysz, Bradley Henning, Neal Patel, Aaron Smedley, Evan Gryska
Key newcomers: Ameya Shenoy, Tommy Gladysz, Paul Haile, Abraar Quraishi, Hector Orrelana, Ysmael Navceller
Outlook: The Hawks feature a mixture of key returning players and promising new faces. Peters has been impressed with what he has seen thus far. “We have several great returning players,” he said. “In addition, there are many new players who have some excellent fundamentals and skills. This season’s goals are generally twofold. First, there are players who will receive some fine-tuning to maximize their potential in conference and hopefully, state. Second, there are a significant amount of players new to the sport that will focus on adopting a solid set of skills to work with as their careers progress. The most significant strength I’ve noticed thus far is the quality of attention the advanced players lend to helping the more novice ones. Such maturity is rare and refreshing.”
Cary-Grove Trojans
Coach: Amanda Schuetzle (1st season)
2010 finish: 8th place Fox Valley Conference
Top players: Seniors Chris Federighi, Mike Barrett, Thomas Carroll, Joe Godawski, Alex Koerber, Tony Lullo, Michael Scott, Carsten Gallant, Andrew Graczyk, sophomore Owen Russell
Outlook: Schuetzle takes over for area coaching great Bud Lachel, who retired from the boys’ position. Schuetzle, an assistant in the girls’ program the last two years, is a former player of Lachel’s. She inherits a team that is headlined by Federighi, who finished in the top 17 in the state as a junior. “We’re looking for him to improve that and hopefully move up a little bit,” said Schuetzle. Russell will likely play No. 2 singles after playing No. 1 doubles last year. “Our doubles are up in the air right now,” said Schuetzle. “We’re making some switches and looking at some different combinations.”
Koerber and Graczyk are contenders for the top doubles positions. “We want to definitely improve our standing in the conference and get someone else in addition to Chris to state,” said Schuetzle. “I think we can do that through hard work. We’re working on our fitness and working on playing smart.”
Crystal Lake South Gators
Coach: Don Nead (43rd season)
2010 finish: Fox Valley Conference champions
Top returning players: Seniors Cam Laktash, Nick Zelasko, Ryan Kinross, Alex Zelasko, Jimmy Uvodich
Key newcomers: seniors Matt Goodwin, Jake Van Dyck, juniors Adam Kay and Derek Fish
Outlook: The defending conference champions lost six starters out its lineup from a year ago. “We’ve got five out of 11 guys back and several other guys fighting for the other six positions,” said Nead. “We have a nice nucleus coming back and a nice nucleus to build around. You need 11 guys, so you have to have depth. That’s our challenge. Can we get that depth we need to be really competitive in the conference? We lost our first and second doubles and half of our third and fourth doubles. We have to get the right combo and find people that play well together.”
Dundee-Crown Chargers
Coach: Harlan Miller (18th season)
2010 finish: 8-10, 3-9 Fox Valley Conference
Top returning players: Seniors Kevin Brandstatter, Alejandro Gonzalez, Mike Hairgrove, Nick Demetriou, Tim Hegel, Jeff Allen, junior Joe Aschacher
Key newcomers: Juniors Erik Martin, Coilly Ugalde, Sahir Irdan, Raymondo Montoya, Eric Cabrerd
Outlook: Veteran coach Miller will field a senior-laden team this season. “We have a good bunch of guys here,” he said. “They work hard and they are having some fun. We’ll see how it plays out. We hope to be competitive.” D-C is currently without senior Patrick Buch due to injury, but welcomes back Allen who did not play last year. D-C opened the season in a quad with South Elgin, Larkin and Elgin. “We got to see our guys and see what they look like,” said Miller. “I think we can be competitive. We have solid players. It should be an interesting and exciting year for us.”
Elgin Academy Hilltoppers
Coach: Greg Repede (1st season)
2010 finish: 10-5 (4th place Independent School League)
Top returning players: Seniors Christian Lynn, Pat Martinak, Chris Kokkelenberg, Nick Kemmler, juniors Charlie Vogel, Joey Heisley
Key newcomers: Sophomores Martin Diaz de Leon, Colt Kozal
Outlook: Longtime Hilltoppers’ sports coach Repede takes over the boys’ program this season. Elgin Academy is paced by returning state qualifiers Lynn and Vogel. Lynn will play either No 1 singles or No. 1 doubles. Vogel will play No. 1 or 2 singles. Martinak and Kokkelenberg will be at No. 1 or No. 2 doubles. Heisley will play singles and doubles, while Kemmler will play doubles. “Our strengths are Christian Lynn and Charlie Vogel. They are looking to return to the state finals,” said Repede. “After them, we’re fairly balanced. We’ll look to pull out some doubles wins. Finishing .500 overall and in the middle of a very tough conference would be great.”
Elgin Maroons
Coach: Larry DeHaan
Top returning players: Seniors Joel Dabandons, Daniel Hegel, Adam Hong, juniors Jordan Altieri, Sakda Kethdy, Mikel Santos-Canovas, Sammy Shaw, sophomores Eric Chai, Abraham Hong
Key newcomer: Freshman Reza Khan
Outlook: Veteran Maroons coach DeHaan likes the amount of talent that dots the roster. “I’m pleased with what I’m seeing out there right now,” he said. “We do have some depth. We have six guys who can play singles. We have some ballplayers on the top end. We have the freedom to play guys around the lineup. We’re going to be competitive in singles. Every week these guys are pounding it out on each other to get into that singles lineup.
Doubles are a priority as well. If you aren’t in the top three in singles, you are going to be helping us in doubles. Our philosophy is everybody should be able to play doubles because only three can play singles. Santos-Canovas went 2-1 at No. 1 singles in the team’s season-opening quad. In addition to Santos-Canovas, Chai, Hegel, Adam Hong, Kethdy and Khan will be in that singles mix. DeHaan lauded the versatility of Hegel, who will also be a presence at No. 1 doubles.
Hampshire Whip-Purs
Coach: Jon Betts (3rd season)
2010 finish: 8-11
Top returning players: Seniors Chris West, Alex Joyce, Austin Eaton, Brandon Hankla, junior Christian DelaCruz, sophomore Samuel Hougland
Key newcomers: Juniors Toby Xayakham, Alejandro Molina, freshen Elisha Hougland, Vince Tolentino
Outlook: This is Hampshire’s third year of having a boys’ tennis program. “The program has continued to grow,” said Betts. “Now with 35 players, many of whom are challenging themselves to be year-round competitors, we are beginning to see significant growth and are looking forward to competing at a higher level this year.” DelaCruz, who played doubles last year, will be moving to the first singles slot and is in search of a state tournament berth. West will play No. 1 doubles. “Although we expect it to take some time to determine how best to organize our young talent, we feel confident that this will be a year of great success,” said Betts.
Huntley Red Raiders
Coach: Barry Wells (6th season)
2010 finish: 7-11 (11th place Fox Valley Conference)
Top returning players: Seniors Mike Kamper, Brendan Bozic, Eric Loboda, Francis Ramirez, Vance Alvarez, Chris Clavero, Ian Stellmach, Mahi Islam, junior Tanner Novalinski
Key newcomer: Junior Alex Fermo
Outlook: The Red Raiders will feature a senior-laden team. “We have good depth and strong senior leadership,” said Wells. Novalinski will play No. 1 singles for Huntley. “I think he will have a chance of getting seeded and qualifying for state,” said Wells. Experience is something Wells is hopeful will lead to an improved record in 2011. “We have almost our entire team back and they have a lot of varsity experience,” he said. “I think we can have a winning year and hopefully have some team and individual success.”
Jacobs Golden Eagles
Coach: Jim Benson (1st season)
2010 finish: 8-3 Fox Valley Conference (3rd place)
Top returning players: Seniors Brian Kaczar, Kinchit Joshi
Key newcomers: Sophomore Kristian Bernardo, Brandon Sidor, Kingsley Bernardo
Outlook: Benson takes over the team after coaching the JV boys in 2010. He was the JV girls coach this past fall. His lineup will feature the senior No. 1 doubles team of Kaczar and Joshi. Bernardo will play No. 2 doubles. “We are young and are full of energy,” said Benson. “The boys are hardworking, dedicated and excited to take on the conference.” Benson feels Sidor and Bernardo are among the players that will make their presence felt as newcomers. “These two guys are young, talented and fighting for the top spot on our team,” the coach said. “These boys will be a great force in the upcoming years at Jacobs.”
Benson would like to see his team get into the top tier of the conference this season. “Our goal is to finish in the Top 3 in the conference,” he said. “It will be tough, but if we work hard and stay in every match until the end, I have confidence that we will accomplish it. We are a very young team with the majority of our starting lineup sophomores. The guys are working hard and are very eager to see how they stack up against the competition.”
Larkin Royals
Coach: Robert Young (8th season)
2010 finish: 15-8 (5th place Upstate Eight Conference)
Key newcomers: Seniors Andy Raupp, Anthony Marano, juniors Mark Niemeier, Adam Senesombath, Lucas Hayes, sophomore Tony Hernandez
Outlook: Young will have a youthful team this season, with a number of newcomers stepping into starting roles. Raupp will play No. 1 singles, while Hernandez is at No. 2 singles. Marano and Niemeier are at No. 1 doubles, while Senesombath and Hayes will play No. 2 doubles. “Wins may be difficult to come by with a very green and young team, but we will play hard and grow as the season goes on,” said Young. “The team really pushes each other to do their best. They work well together and truly epitomize what a team is. Our goal is to improve and play better tennis as the season progresses. Our plan is to play hard and smart and see what happens. We will look to play better with each match.”
St. Edward Green Wave
Coach: Michael Aydt (1st season)
Top returning players: Seniors Anthony Abbate, Alex Koller, Francis Landoy, junior Tyler Kohl, sophomores Justin Wysocke, Alex Winkler.
Key newcomers: Juniors Vince Javier, Jack Kelly, freshman Joseph Viso
Outlook: Aydt takes over a team that will be sound in the singles division with established veterans like Abbate and Koller. “The two singles positions will be our strength,” said Aydt. Kohl and Landoy are leading candidates to be at the No. 1 doubles position. “We had our first meet against Hampshire,” said Aydt. “We lost 5-0, but we saw a lot of improvement from the new guys and from the returning players. The guys have improved a lot from the beginning of the season. We’re waiting for the weather to break so we can get outside more.”
South Elgin Storm
Coach: Jennifer Shaughnessy (4th season)
2010 finish: 8th place Upstate Eight
Top returning players: Seniors Colin Ferry, Zach Bohlin
Key newcomers: Freshmen Andre Norasith, Ayush Patel
Outlook: Shaughnessy has high hopes for the Storm this season. “We are looking to do well, she said. “This is the most competitive team South Elgin tennis has put together.” Ferry and Bohlin make up the Storm’s top doubles team. “Colin and Zach are consistent and smart players,” said Shaughnessy. “They will be playing doubles this year after years of playing singles.” Newcomer Norasith is drawing rave reviews at No. 1 singles. “As a freshman, he will be leading the singles,” said Shaughnessy. “Andre is an experienced player and his USTA experience will be a great asset to him this season.”
Patel will play at No. 2 doubles. South Elgin features a senior-dominated lineup. “They have years of competitive playing ability that they will put to good use this season,” she said. “I think our doubles will do well. They are experienced in match play and have been working on game-play strategy. The end goal for us is to do well and qualify players for state. I think we can do it. They want to do well this season. It all starts there.”
Streamwood Sabres
Coach: Miriam Abe (6th season)
Top returning players: Senior Daniel Radovanovic, sophomore Kosuke Enami
Key newcomers: Seniors James Palermo, Ryu Amafuji, sophomores George Dressel, Nelson Santana
Outlook: Radovanovic will headline the singles division at the No. 1 position. Enami, who played No. 2 singles last year, will play No. 1 doubles this year. Dressel and Santana could play either No. 1 or No. 3 doubles. “The strength this year is we have seven seniors on the varsity team,” said Abe. “It brings more experience to the team.” Abe is working on establishing her lineup, which features a number of equally talented players. “We have not decided on the positions,” she said. “The weather has not helped us. We did not have much of an opportunity to have challenge matches.” Streamwood will host the UEC River Division tournament this year. Abe feels teams like St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Batavia and Geneva will be top contenders in the River Division.