Timothy Christian ready for Glenbard South
After Timothy Christian sophomore Nate Daniels moved from Melbourne, Australia, to Oak Brook in January 2014, his first spring sport was one he never played.
"I wasn't that good at baseball. I just thought it would be something fun to do," Daniels said.
During the summer a friend suggested that Daniels join him at the boys tennis camp run by Timothy coach Keith Mills.
Daniels is now the Trojans' No. 1 singles player. On Thursday he improved to 6-1 as part of a 4-1 dual victory over Glenbard South in their Metro Suburban Conference crossover in Elmhurst.
"I came (to summer camp), I liked it and Coach Mills said, 'You should play,' so I did," said Daniels, a 6-0, 6-1 winner. "I used to play (tennis) in third and fourth grade and then I stopped. I want to make it to state, but I'm not sure how realistic that is with Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove (South in our sectional)."
Timothy's other victories came from senior Caleb Hays (6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles) and the doubles teams of juniors Jerad Rhiner and Nick Silvia (6-2, 6-4 at No. 2) and juniors Mitch Evenhouse and Ben Lodewyk (6-2, 6-3 at No. 3).
Glenbard South senior Brendan Colgan and junior Avi Panjwani improved to 10-1 by defeating senior Logan DeVries and junior Jack Wells 6-1, 6-2. Regular No. 2 singles player Ryan Marco was out sick.
Both teams are 7-1 in duals. The Trojans lost their season opener to Francis Parker when Daniels returned to Australia just prior to spring break.
"We had a decent group coming back, but to have (Daniels) come into the lineup, to have as your No. 1 three years, is a big boost," Mills said. "He's a natural tennis player as far as the mental part of it. He keeps the ball in play and works real hard. He's got a nice technique, too. He's just going to keep getting better."
The friendly rivals have battled for the top of the MSC the past few years. With the conference now expanded into large and small-school divisions, both have legitimate chances to capture titles in 2015.
However, both teams also remain in separate and difficult sectionals that require top-four finishes to qualify for state.
"It's going to be tough, but we're trying to get as many wins as we can and try to get a good seed at sectionals so we can get that top four and go to state," Colgan said.
Colgan has played No. 1 singles the past two years, winning the 2014 MSC title and taking third as a sophomore. He's playing doubles with Panjwani this season.
Panjwani won the 2013 MSC No. 2 singles title and 2014 MSC No. 1 doubles crown with junior Jared Schwarz, now playing No. 1 singles.
"This was their idea. (Colgan and Panjwani) came to me in the off-season," Glenbard South coach Mark Conrad said. "I was happy to accommodate, so they played together in the off-season a little indoors and watched a lot of video of the Bryan brothers."
On Saturday Colgan and Panjwani lost to Downers South's Zach Wood and Lawrence Hiquiana 6-1, 6-0 in the finals of the Glenbard West Invitational after winning 11 of their last 12 games for a 6-4, 6-1 semifinal victory over Glenbard West's Matt Lipnica and Kyle Keane.
"My serve has been popping and Avi's got great volleys, so we're a good combo," Colgan said.
Panjwani saw an immediate benefit from Colgan's 6-foot-2 build.
"I like it because I serve it, and then they try to hit it over him. They won't. Confidence-wise, it's nice to have a tall guy," Panjwani said. "We've known each other for a while, so it wasn't that hard chemistry-wise. It was just getting to know each other's games."
Both teams play host to their respective MSC division championships May 15-16. In a new scoring format, teams receive one point for each division dual victory plus 1.5 up to 3.0 points for top-four flight finishes at the MSC Tournament.
Next week Glenbard South and Timothy meet their projected title rivals in duals - Wheaton Academy and Illiana Christian, respectively.
Glenbard South has won the last two MSC titles with Timothy second after the Trojans were 2012 champions. The Raiders won last year 59-56 even though Timothy won their dual.
"I know the boys talked about (last year). They really wanted to play Glenbard," Mills said. "They don't show it too much, but they wanted a little bit of revenge. That's part of sports, but you can see that they get along (afterward), too. It's a good win. Certain matches you get ready for."