Zhang leaves his mark; Brown wins singles title
The consensus is clear when it comes to characterizing Gordon Zhang of Naperville North, a four-time boys tennis state tournament qualifier.
Class, all the way.
Zhang, who just missed finishing in the top eight in his final trip to the tournament, brings the same response from coaches and peers alike.
Long after the University of Chicago-bound Zhang (33-5) was eliminated from medal contention by Peter Tarwid of Lake Forest in Saturday’s consolation quarterfinals, coaches who watched the Huskies captain on his final day of prep tennis were quick to comment on one of the top players in this year’s field.
“The thing about Gordon which everyone knows is how hard of a worker he is and how hard he plays each point and what a great and fair player he is. He’s one that this sport is always glad to have around,” said Deerfield coach Josh Leighton, who on Friday was a little nervous about Zhang facing his top player, Jason Brown, in their round of 16 match. “You never want to have Gordon extend a match into three sets, because he just grinds out the point and makes you work harder than you want to. Fortunately for Jason, he was able to stay away from a match like that and get past him and into the semifinals.”
Brown (33-4) carried the momentum from his straight-set victory to win the singles title Saturday at Hersey.
“Gordon is just a classy kid who always goes out and gives a great effort while playing with such a great attitude,” added Lake Forest coach Corky Leighton following Tarwid’s 6-4, 6-0 to advance in the back draw at Buffalo Grove. “(He) wasn’t able to generate enough offense in his second set with Peter to attack him the way he probably wanted to, but they played a terrific first set, and he was always a fun kid to watch play.”
Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen, who had the pleasure of watching Zhang develop over the years, had a tough time while on the court watching Zhang during his match with Brown on Friday.
“Sitting in that chair, I was having a hard time keeping it together, knowing this would be the last weekend that I would have the honor of coaching Gordon,” Henricksen said. “It was our first ever player in the round of 16, and I was so happy for him — and I was fighting back the tears at times so that I wouldn’t embarrass him.”
Henricksen went on to point out that Zhang is a terrific student-athlete who even taught her a thing or two about tennis.
“His ability to lead by example, and to be such a great teammate and the way that he carries himself on the court is at such a high level, and that’s not to mention how amazing of a player he has been as well,” she said. “You can see why I am really going to miss him.”
Zhang, along with the rest of the front draw and the few remaining players in the back draw, was forced to sit through a pair of delays caused first by an overnight rain, which left the courts still wet when everyone began to arrive Saturday morning at the two remaining venues; and later, just moments before play was about to begin at 9:30 a.m., when Mother Nature decided to unload a furious storm. That led to an almost three-hour wait as the courts dried.
Once action resumed, Brown breezed past two freshmen, Martin Joyce (Hinsdale Central) and then Julian Childers (Marian Catholic, 32-2) in just over an hour in straight sets.
“Those three-set matches (Friday) really helped sharpen my game today, and without a doubt, I feel that I played my best tennis on the final day of the tournament,” said Brown, who will continue playing next fall at Yale.
The championship was the first for coach Josh Leighton since he guided two-time state champion Tom Hanus in 1999 and 2001 at Palatine.
Top seed Michael Sellitto-Michael Levin (38-2) of Glenbrook South was unable to hold off the Hinsdale Central team of Alex Hagermoser-Peter Heneghan (23-1) in the doubles final as the Red Devils pair outlasted the Titans 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in a tight, intense match which took over two hours to complete.
The Red Devils’ victory at doubles capped a command performance by Hinsdale Central, which began the day 6 points ahead of defending champion New Trier.
The final margin was 12, with Hinsdale Central finishing at 48 points and New Trier with 36. Lake Forest finished third.
Junior Jeremy Bush (24-6) was superb over the three days, and his third-place medal at singles with a straight-set victory over Joyce helped the Patriots finish fourth, 2 points ahead of three teams tied for fifth, Deerfield, Glenbrook South and Oak Park-River Forest.