Stevenson tandem throws NSC for a loss
Autumn was in the air at Saturday’s North Suburban Conference boys tennis tournament at Lakes.
So was a football.
It was a mini-pigskin, and it belonged to Stevenson senior David Packowitz, half of the Patriots’ No. 1 doubles team. He tossed the ball to his partner, classmate Ross Putterman.
Putterman returned it — without the aid of a racket.
“(Putterman) throws a tighter spiral than I do,” Marquette-bound Packowitz said while smiling and flipping the football to himself outside a bank of courts.
“But (Packowitz) throws it farther,” said Putterman, bound to beat college foes by touchdowns (6-0, 6-0) at Washington (Mo.) University.
“We get bored at meets sometimes, waiting to play,” Packowitz added. “So we play catch with a football. We both pack one for weekend tournaments.
“And it’s a fun way to loosen up our shoulders.”
Pack/Putt swung to a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Warren seniors Eric Seiler/Nikola Trukov in the No. 1 doubles championship, improving their season mark to 24-0.
Look at that record again. Think fall.
Think final score, of a football game.
“They’re so good, really consistent,” Seiler said of the runner-up tandem at the 2008 and ’09 state meets.
“They don’t miss and they use a lot of pace. Plus their serves ... so tough. Putterman has a huge kick serve, and Packowitz hits hard serves.”
One more thing was up in the air on Saturday, shortly after match point at No. 1 doubles: the final team standings. Uncertainty showed up and decided to stick around, dampen matters.
Rain suspended action, on four courts, until Monday at 4:30 p.m. Those will be completed at Warren’s Almond Campus. Reigning conference champ Stevenson holds a 34-30 lead on Lake Forest for the top spot. Pairs from each school will play for titles at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles on Monday.
Up for grabs, for both Stevenson and LF: four team points.
Stevenson’s Jeremy Bush played No. 2 doubles, with Justin Olexa, at last year’s NSC tourney. They won the flight, edging a Lake Forest pair 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Bush was a freshman.
He found similar success as a sophomore on Saturday, as a soloist. Bush burned winners throughout his 6-1, 6-0 rout of LF freshman Peter Tarwid in the final at No. 1 singles. The top bracket’s semifinals featured three sophomores and a freshman. The other two No. 1 singles semifinalists — Warren sophomore Kristiyan Trukov and Vernon Hills soph Ismail Kadyrov — battled for third place, with Trukov claiming a 6-0, 6-3 victory.
“Crazy and weird, I know,” Bush said after the final. “A lot of youth.”
Bush, bigger and stronger, has relied more heavily on his serve this spring than he had as a prep rookie. He also added serious mph to his forehand.
“With my serve now, I’m able to get more free points,” said Bush, who went 4-2 in singles at state last spring. “It’s become a weapon.
“Today I wanted to play smart, consistent tennis and (rush the net) after a short ball. (Tarwid) is a good player; he hits a hard forehand, and it’s pretty flat.”
Lake Forest sophomore Camron Bagheri hit the court as a singles player Saturday and left as the No. 2 champ — for the second year in a row.
Stevenson junior Brian Kim bowed 6-0, 6-1 to the Scout.
Warren’s Blue Devils, third at the NSC meet a year ago, clinched third place (23.5 points) on Saturday, ahead of Libertyville’s Wildcats (19.5).
Warren’s No 2 duo, senior Neel Desai and sophomore Matt Matheny, downed Libertyville’s Eric Klein/Dan Pozen 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in a third-place match.
It also avenged a loss.
“Huge win,” said Warren coach Greg Cohen, adding Trukov’s third-place decision at No. 1 singles also qualified as a rather hefty result.
Libertyville’s most significant victory Saturday came in the third-place match at No. 1 doubles. Wildcats Jake Springgate/Rokas Shkolnikov defeated Lake Forest’s Ryan Kennedy/Will Martin 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. But the result didn’t just help Libertyville’s point total.
It doubled as valuable seed info. Libertyville and LF vie for state berths at next weekend’s highly competitive Highland Park sectional.
Vernon Hills (14.5), Lake Zurich (12) and Mundelein (11) finished 5-6-7 at the 14-team meet Saturday.