Northwest/ Scouting the boys state tennis tournament
By Mike Garofola
Daily Herald Correspondent
Boys tennis/ Scouting the boys state tournament
When and where: Starts 10 a.m. Thursday and runs through Saturday. First two days are at courts throughout the 12 Mid-Suburban League schools. Saturday’s championship rounds start at 9 a.m. at host site Hersey.
Top singles seeds (in order): Jason Brown (Deerfield, 26-4), Sam Bloom (Hinsdale Central, 19-2), Julian Childers (Marian Catholic, 26-1), Martin Joyce (Hinsdale Central, 16-3), Josh Cogan (Batavia, 29-0), Toby Ma (Deefield, 10-4), Jeremy Bush (Stevenson, 18-5), Alex Galoustian (New Trier, 15-0).
Top doubles seeds (in order): Glenbrook South (Michael Sellitto-Michael Levin, 32-2), Highland Park (Zacko Brint-Danny Wynbrandt, 19-1), Hinsdale Central (Alex Hagermoser-Peter Heneghan, 15-2), New Trier (Alex Mang-Arthur Ozga, 7-2), Downers Grove South (Cody Freischlag-Connor Harmon, 24-4), Hinsdale Central (Chase Hamilton-Michael Lorenzini, 19-3), St. Charles North (Danny Oakes-Dom Alamraj, 27-1), New Trier (Nate Jacobson-David Laser, 7-4).
Singles scene: Three weeks ago, it appeared to be cast in stone the Nos. 1-2 seeds would be Jared Hiltzik of New Trier and Konrad Zieba from Glenbrook South — until both Hiltzik, the 2011 runner-up, and his younger brother Aron, a strong candidate to be a 5-8, walked away from the Trevians for the season, and Zieba decided to play in a high level ITF tournament without first getting approval from the IHSA. With the field thinned, and the talent pool greater altered, the four-time state qualifier Brown moved ahead of the class to earn a well-deserved top seed. Bloom has emerged to become the No. 2 seed, and a threat on the opposite side of the bracket, while giving the Red Devils the best 1-2 punch at this position, along with his teammate Joyce, who began his rookie season with a 3-set victory over Brown. The four-time qualifier Cogan has dropped only two sets the entire season, while the New Trier freshman Galoustian is a late bloomer, with victories over Leto and Sam Hoogland (GBS).
Double up: There are no super teams to dominate this season such as last year’s champs, David Packowitz-Ross Putterman (Stevenson), or the two-time champions from Hinsdale Central (Dan Ballantine-Ian Tesmond), who controlled the turf prior to the Patriots undefeated run a year ago. That does not mean the competition won’t be fierce as Highland Park (Brint-Wynbrandt) and Glenbrook South (Sellitto-Levin) are the deserving top two, but a quick glance at the overall records, and head-to-head encounters of the next six, in addition to a few of the teams just on the outside of the Nos. 5-8 seeds, should tell those at the upper end to be careful. Highland Park’s 4-year star Brint has won two state medals with two different partners in his career, while Sellitto, who recently passed current Notre Dame star Michael Moore in all-time career victories (131), is here for the fourth consecutive time. The recent straight-set victory over Downers South by Oakes-Alamraj likely cemented a 5-8 seed for St. Charles North, and makes them a team to watch during the next two days, in a field which is plenty deep, and one were several 9-16 seeds are capable of pulling off a surprise as the tournament unfolds.
Local singles flavor: After Joyce and Galoustian, Schaumburg freshman Vincent Lin (20-0) is the next best new player who came onto the scene this spring. Fresh off an impressive outing over 2011 state qualifier Hoogland to win his sectional title after a three-set victory, the smooth-hitting Lin looks to have the physical and mental makeup to have a successful weekend in his first visit to the tournament. Lin will opens today on his home courts against Calvin Kang (Bradley-Bourbonnais) and is two wins away from facing the big hitting Jeremy Dixon (Oak Park), who was a 17-32 qualifier last spring. Conant’s Peter Itskovich returns to the tournament after advancing last year at doubles, where he and Takuma Ito won three in the back draw. Prospect sophomore Carson Burke (20-14) is here for the first time.
Local doubles scene: The Barrington duo of George Coll-Varun Parekh (17-7) have been given the chance to make their final days together as a doubles team a terrific experience, after tourney officials kept them on their home courts starting today, and with a well-deserved 9-17 seed. “We like where we are in the (draw) and I feel that if both George and Varun come out strong, and start fast, they could be playing Friday morning (in) the front draw against (Mang-Ozga) from New Trier,” said Broncos head coach John Roncone. MSL champion Fremd pulled a surprise at the Stevenson sectional last weekend by getting both of its doubles teams together, including its No. 2 of Eric Pohl-Sudeer Vundru (3-1), who were placed together at the last minute, and hit the jackpot. The Vikings’ top team (Matt Buesing-Mike Artov, 19-12) have been coming on strong of late, and have a hard fought 3-set loss to the No. 3 seed (Hinsdale Central) to show that they can play with the best. Conant’s Spencer Fang and Connor Sacks (18-8) open with Warren’s Matt Matheny-Samuel Gudelman at Fremd, while the 17-32 seeds Buesing-Artov will be alongside their MSL West rivals against Naperville North (Steven Nguyen-Lee Charles).
Team race: Until the recent loss of the Hiltzik brothers, New Trier was easily the favorite to win its third consecutive team trophy, but not so this year, according to its coach, Tad Eckert. “It’s (Hinsdale’s) to lose, like in 2010, when they were the big favorites, and we came back to win it at the very end,” said the former state singles (1989) champ. “We’d like to think we can control our own destiny, but we’ll see how it goes as the tournament continues to unfold.” The Red Devils have plenty of firepower capable of playing deep into the front-draw, which helps pile on points which others may not be able to match. However, with the expected warm conditions, fitness becomes vital, as does the test of endurance, and the Central faithful have to hope their heroes won’t wilt under the extreme heat. The wild card in the team race this season might be Downers Grove South, which can match some of the attacking power Central has with its singles lineup, and a doubles team that can play for a big trophy on Saturday. The Mustangs’ top player (Leto) has an impressive resume, filled with quality opponents from top-to-bottom.