Rolling Meadows' Galvin ready for liftoff
It's up, up and away this spring - and perhaps beyond - for Mack Galvin of Rolling Meadows.
The high flying two-time Mid-Suburban League boys tennis champ is considered the favorite to win yet another league crown this season. Add that to a very different kind of lofty achievement, as Galvin recently committed to the Air Force Academy.
"It has always been the No. 1 place I wanted to go to," said an excited Galvin, who intends to arrive in Colorado Springs in the fall of 2016. "We went out for a visit two weeks ago, and I sat in a few classes, hung around with the players, and met with the coaching staff, and it was all just a great experience. (That) and location of the Academy is amazing - you look up, and there's Pike's Peak."
The upbeat two-time state qualifier says flying could eventually be in his future, from a long-list of options available to all of the cadets, as will be his service commitment, which would be five years following graduation and obviously more should he move on to become a pilot of some sort.
"I am not sure what avenue that I'll take," said Galvin, "but the opportunities are endless and it will be an experience that I am looking forward to once I get there.
Galvin, who went 3-2 in his second straight trip to the state tournament last May, finished with a dazzling 36-5 overall record. He feels the meniscus repair he had done last July has made him feel better than ever before.
"There were and are no complications from the repair, and I feel 110 percent," Galvin said. "Going through that after playing at the state tournament last year made me realize how much more I had to work on my overall conditioning and fitness in order to complete at a higher level. I now go to the gym four times a week, do some extra running in the morning and really take a whole new approach to that part of my game."
With the likes of Connor Sachs, Eric Pohl and Carson Burke all off to college after strong senior seasons, it appears the best challenger to Galvin in the MSL is Barrington senior Ishaan Jaglan.
"Ish is a great player, and a guy I'll have to be ready for during the year, and conference tournament. But our sectional is loaded, with Mark Wu, Nick Marino, Will Sauser from GBN, Noah (Rosenblatt) from Deerfield and (Jacob) Edelchik and Nick Zazove from Highland Park. It's a crazy good bunch at singles, but I know I've done the work to be right there with them when sectionals begin."
Those heavy MSL graduations, meanwhile, seem to work in favor of defending team champ Barrington.
"We feel very fortunate to have the bulk of our lineup back from last year, so the opportunity is there for us to have a very good regular season and conference tournament to help set us up for a solid chance of getting everyone out of our sectional and into the state tournament," said Broncos coach John Roncone.
Jaglan and Scott Apmann went 4-2 at the state tournament last season, and could very well be placed back together in advance of sectionals.
The Nos. 2 and 3 MSL champs from a year ago, Zach Hennenfent and Mohammed Walji, are both back, as is the No. 2 doubles champion team of Vijay Tripuraneni-Matt Mulligan.
"Barrington has to be the clear favorite in our division as well as the conference with so many of their guys back from last year," said Palatine coach Jim Lange. "The MSL took a heavy graduation hit, but that also means this is a great time for younger players to make a name for themselves."
Lange feels junior David Chon has a chance to climb the ladder of success after a 15-win season last spring with the since-graduated Leo Moslemian at doubles.
"David has put in the time during the off-season playing a lot of USTA tournaments and hitting with Mack Galvin as much as he can," Lange said. "My hope is for David to quality whether at singles, or perhaps with a new doubles partner come sectionals."
Prospect coach Tom Kujawa lost the aforementioned Burke plus his wonderful doubles team of Ralph Tenuta-Sam Tambeaux, while Anton Levitan (Buffalo Grove) might be moving over to singles after his state qualifying partner Peter Georgiades graduated last May.
Matt Meyers willl hold down one-half of Conant's No. 1 doubles team after saying farewell to Sachs, while coach Matt Duncan at Fremd moves on after the loss of his four-year star Eric Pohl.
"We've got a good bunch of young guys to give us much better depth than last year," said Duncan, "but Eric will be impossible to replace so it's going to take us some time to figure things out here in the early going."
Central Suburban North
It's back to the land of giants for Derrick Swistak and his Maine West tennis team, which embark on yet another physically and mentally demading season in the best tennis conference in the state, led this season by Highland Park and Glenbrook North, both serious contenders for top honors at the state tournament.
"It's a great conference that we're in, but for us the goal is to become more competitive in the CSL while continuing to support and bring along a huge crop of freshmen, which we hope begins a nice trend for us in the coming years," says Swistak, who welcomed a dozen frosh to camp.
Those newcomers will have the perfect role models to follow as returning state doubles qualifiers Patrick Czuj and Henry Nguyen headline the Warriors' starting lineup, in addition to Miguel Hernandez and Jackson Torkelson. Both are back after turning in quality work on the courts for Swistak a year ago.
Swistak will likely have three freshmen in his lineup at the start, and the affable coach is confident his lads will perform at their best against common opponents such as Fenton, Elk Grove, Niles North and Maine East in dual meet action, in addition to the Willowbrook Invite, where the club has become a regular fixture near the top in the final standings there.
East Suburban Catholic
It's a timeless storyline, as Benet Academy is once again the team to beat in the ESCC this spring.
The Redhawks won their 19th league crown by a wide margin last year, and with the return of state qualifier Pat McGuigan plus the addition of freshmen phenom Jack Carroll, it appears coach Michael Hand may have his best club in years.
Kevin Hunt (25-5) of Carmel is back after qualifying to state last season and is considered to be perhaps be the one to beat at No. 1 singles, with St. Viator senior Jacob Nottoli one of many who will chase the Corsairs senior in the coming weeks.
"We're relying on seniors like Jacob, Ryan Abuel and Jeff Madden to act as mentors while sharing their knowledge and experience with a promising group of freshmen, who have been battling for starting spots ever since we came together," says Alex Bocian, beginning his second year as Lions coach.
Madden was part of a No. 2 doubles team last year (with Jason Vivit) which finished second at the ESCC tourney.
Bocian has penciled in freshman Kyle Borst to handle the No. 2 position behind Nottoli for now, while Abuel and Jack Neubauer begin as the Lions' top team at doubles.
"There's a lot of talented young athletes in our program right now, which not only makes this upcoming season an exciting one, but also the future, which looks very promising," Bocian said.
State of the state
It appears only Glenbrook North, Highland Park, Stevenson and perhaps Downers Grove South can stop Hinsdale Central from lifting a fourth straight state championship on the final weekend in May.
Martin Joyce, the 2013 state champ and 2014 runner-up for Hinsdale Central, has decided not to return for his senior year. But the Red Devils still have Eddie Grabill (37-2), state medalists Lope Adelakun and Michael Czonkla to head their doubles team, plus the apparent return of Michael Lorenzini, a 9-16 seed in 2013, to handle things at No. 2 singles behind the reigning state champion Grabill.
Glenbrook North and Highland Park have the depth and firepower to be right there with Hinsdale Central on the last day of the season. However, they, along with another high-profile club from the CSL, Deerfield, are part of the Group of Granite sectional which also includes Glenbrook South and Rolling Meadows.
"It's going to be an exciting sectional, and really a lot of fun to compete in," said Galvin. "But there are five, six, maybe seven guys at singles who are all state qualifiers - and only four spots available. So if you get out of there, you'll be fortunate to do so."
With its off-season major sectional assignment switcheroo, the IHSA has thrown a tough challenge at the CSL's state hopefuls. It's unlikely that either Glenbrook North or Highland Park would be able to get all four of their entrants to the state tournament, which is the only way a team these days can make a serious run at the likes of Hinsdale Central.
"We have everyone back, so it's just a matter of putting the right lineup together in order to be our strongest at that sectional, so I guess you just play the cards your dealt and see what happens," said Glenbrook North coach Jeff Jordan, who could have the 1-2 seed at doubles come tournament time with David Zakhodian-Miguel Perez.
Expectations will be high for Steve Rudman, who may have his best club in recent years at Highland Park. Among his premium talents are the state qualifiers at doubles, Max Gordon-David Aizenberg, and the marvelous singles pair of Jacob Edelchik and Nick Zazove.
Stevenson should have no trouble sending its entire team through to help jump-start its state title hopes. But it remains to be seen how its coach Tom Stanhope eventually pieces together his sectional lineup from a deep, and talented roster.
"We'll have a lot of options, but our focus will always be to get everybody through first, then see how everything shakes down once we get there," says Stanhope.
Leading the way will be Colin Harvey, half of the Patriots' 2014 state doubles champs (with Andrew Komarov). This year Harvey could pair with Ben Bush or play No. 1 singles, where he could be a top-eight seed. State doubles qualifiers Adam Maryiuk-Matt Harvey are also key figures for the Pats, as are Brian Weisberg and incoming freshmen Sam Komis, all very capable of giving the club a potent one-two punch at singles.
Lake Forest will be right there also, not only in the North Suburban Conference race, but the state tourney as well with the return of state medalists Greg Fraunenheim-Jordan O'Kelly.
Libertyville and Downers Grove both have an extraordinary lineup at singles, which should see both clubs finish in the top eight by year's end. Ben VanDixhorn (33-5, Northwestern) and Stefano Tsorotiotis (30-3) combined for all 21 points last spring to help the Wildcats to a ninth-place finish, while the pair of Tony Leto and Christian San Andres racked up 19 of the 28 overall points for Downers Grove South to give the Mustangs the fourth-place trophy.
New Trier may not have its usual dominant roster, but it does have one of the best coaches in the business, so Tad Eckert will likely find a way to pull the Trevians into the mix in late May.
The Pitchford 32 will find most of the biggest names in the sport come together on the first weekend of May at host Hersey High School, and this year's annual mini state tournament will give fans a glimpse at several new look lineups that coaches will test in that one final chance to find the right combination for the state tournament.
The real treat at the 32 may be the expected singles final, where Grabill could face Lyons Township star Gianni Ross.
Ross is back from a long stint on the USTA circuit and will be LT's first legit state champ candidate since Dave Robare-Jim Smits captured a doubles crown in 2007.
Rossi ended his off-season by winning a national championship at doubles in Kalamazoo, Mich., over the summer, and is currently rated No. 3 in the country among 16-year-olds.