Boys tennis notes: Spring tennis season hampered by bad luck with weather

Here's a look at some storylines as the boys tennis season heads into conference, sectional and state tournaments the next couple weeks.

AURORA CENTRAL CATHOLIC

The Chargers are 11-3 overall and 2-2 in the Metro Suburban Conference.

The top doubles team of Adam and Elijah Hartford is a perfect 14-0. The Hartfords took top honors are the East Aurora and LaSalle-Peru invitationals.

The second doubles team of Justin Cebulski and Bryan Novak is 13-1 with first place efforts at East Aurora and L-P.

The top singles player is Andrew Hipp, who is 9-3 and claimed top honors at the same two invites. ACC plays at Crystal Lake Central Saturday. The Metro Suburban meet is May 12 and the Class 1A sectional is May 19-20.

BARTLETT

The Hawks are led by top singles player Tej Shah who is 13-1. The top doubles team of Krish Patel and Yasuf Ghani has a 7-6 mark.

BATAVIA

Coach Brad Nelson is certainly blunt about his assessment of the weather this spring.

"The weather has been brutal," said the 11th-year coach. "We have had three weekend tournaments canceled. It has been rainy, windy and cold."

The Bulldogs finished third in the prestigious Maine South invitational. They claimed top honors in the Glenbard South quadrangular and the Troy Triad invitational.

Batavia, ravaged by injuries, is led by Cush Adhvaryu, Eric Otten and Sanjay Dave.

The Bulldogs will participate in the Crystal Lake Central invitational May 6 before hosting the conference meet May 13. Batavia begins postseason play at the Class 2A St. Charles North sectional on May 20.

BENET

The Redwings, under veteran coach Michael Hand, are 8-6 overall and 6-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

The Class 1A runners-up are paced by top singles players Patrick Burke, who is 9-3. The returning state qualifier is battling injuries.

The top doubles team of Zach Bobofchak and Hugh Davis is 13-1. Michael Campione and Peter Charick are 7-0 at second doubles.

The Redwings host the NaperValley invitational Friday and Saturday while also hosting the upcoming conference meet.

"We want to get healthy and stabilize the lineup," Hand said.

CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH

The Gators' top doubles team of Aaron Koh and Jack Dacy is 8-8.

Both singles players for Rick Bailey's troops are freshmen. Eryk Bucior (No. 1) is 4-11 and No. 2 Zeke Boldman is 5-11. The Gators play at the Bud Lachel Invitational Saturday hosted by Cary-Grove.

ELGIN ACADEMY

Arya Govula and Percy Wu lead the Hilltoppers with 6-4 records.

"The weather has affected us greatly," said coach Sterling Perez. "The first couple weeks were below 40. We had to hit the indoors. We didn't get outside until the last day before our first meet."

DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH

The Mustangs are led by Sam Plys who is 17-3, South is 7-4 overall and 5-0 in the West Suburban Gold.

"We want to win the West Suburban Gold and compete at the highest level at state," said South coach Josh Forst.

GLENBARD SOUTH

The Raiders, a perfect 6-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference, are seeking a third straight conference crown.

Singles player leading the Raiders are Eric Zeikus (6-1 UEC) and Jordan Abbott (6-0).

Brian Uvodich and Miles Kubik are a perfect 6-0 at No. 1 doubles while Lazar Prvulov-Abdullah Naeem are 6-0 in UEC action.

"We want to play well and finish strong," said coach Wade Hardtke. "We want to push for another conference championship."

HAMPSHIRE

Caed Steuber is 4-7 at No. 1 singles while Braden Koffen is 5-4 at No. 2 singles. Matt Crumlett and Tyler Yu are 3-3 at No. 1 doubles while Shiv Patel and Ryan Regalado are 3-1 at second doubles.

The Whip-Purs are at the Crystal Lake invitational Saturday and compete at the Fox Valley Conference meet May 11-12.

Hampshire enters this week 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the FVC.

"We would like to turn heads in the FVC and finish in the top four," said coach Dylan Clark. "We would like finish in the top four in the conference for the first time in six years."

JACOBS

Despite a young team, the Golden Eagles are 6-0 in Fox Valley Conference along with a 12-6 overall mark.

Augie Nelson and Sohan Kairo are 11-4 at No. 1 doubles.

Like most teams in the area, Jacobs has had to battle the inclement weather this spring.

"The weather has been brutal," said veteran coach Jon Betts. "We go to St. Louis for the first two weekends to get nice weather. We had tornadoes and high winds that impacted the St. Louis area. We have been significantly limited by the weather."

The Eagles play at Hampshire Tuesday and host District 300 rival Dundee-Crown Thursday. Jacobs hosts its own invitational Saturday joined by Bartlett, Dundee-Crown and Carmel Catholic.

LAKE PARK

The Lancers, guided by Christian Pawlak, are led by top singles player Jakub Wierzba.

Lake Park placed first in the Hildebrandt Lange invitational.

"The weather this season has been more tolerable than last year," said Pawlak.

NEUQUA VALLEY

The Wildcats are currently 6-1 overall and are a perfect 3-0 in DuPage Valley Conference.

Junior Johnny Mou, a returning state qualifier, is 10-6.

Seniors Sid Javeri and Kai Sun are 8-5. Both are hoping to make a second straight trip to the Class 2A state tournament.

"We hope to win conference undefeated," said coach William Rose. "We hope to win sectionals which will be very competitive."

ST. CHARLES EAST

The Saints' top doubles teams of Quincy Moss-Sam Evans along with Alex Sternowksi and Tiege Donehoo are 10-3.

ST. CHARLES NORTH

The North Stars are 10-1 in dual meets and 5-1 in the DuKane Conference.

Noah Bajuk is 15-3 and Jon Spicer has a 12-3 mark.

"We want to compete for the conference championship and win sectionals," said coach Sean Masoncuo. "We want to qualify a few entries in the state meet."

The North Stars are at the Naper Valley Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Masoncup's son Tyler, who plays at Geneva, also will be at the Naper Valley Invitational this weekend.

ST. FRANCIS

The Spartans are led by freshman Umar Bajwa with an 8-4 mark. St. Francis won its own Breakpoint tournament earlier in the season.

Coach Tom Castronovo has had to battle the elements like everybody in the Chicago area.

"The weather is always tough during the boys season," said the Spartans coach. "We have had matches and practices canceled. It has been very cold and windy. It has been very challenging."

TIMOTHY CHRISTIAN

The Class 1A power has turned in first place efforts at the Hinsdale South, Timothy Christian and Eisenhower quads.

Keith Mills, in his 21st year as the Trojans coach, is led by Elliott Matthew who is the top singles player. The top doubles duo is Tommy Kunz and Hendrick Devries. The No. 2 doubles team is comprised of Andrew Ausmus and Elliott Tandy.

Before conference and the postseason, Timothy travels to Champaign for the Chargers Classic Saturday.

"The spring is always a nemesis," said Mills. "This year we have had more matches than practices."

WEST AURORA

Bill Stanley's squad is off to a great start this spring. The Blackhawks are 10-3 overall and have compiled a 9-1 slate in the Southwest Prairie Conference.

West Aurora is led by No. 1 singles sophomore Josh Hartman who is 9-1. Senior Ben Fisher, at No. 2 singles, is 7-4 and third singles player senior Gabe Escobedo is 6-4.

The No. 1 doubles team of senior Tommy Martin and junior Will Hipp is 7-5. The No, 2 doubles team of Garrett Glatzhofer and Colton Davis is 8-3. At No. 3, Cole Loomer and Jonathan Hoskins are 7-4 at 3 doubles and the fourth doubles team of Yoel Paredes- Nemesio Bercasio is 6-1.

"We have had only one rescheduled meet," said Stanley. "The weather hasn't really affected us. We are getting comfortable playing in the cold. We are creative with our practices whether it be after school or before school."

WHEATON NORTH

The Falcons are perfect in dual meets with a 12-0 overall mark and have a 5-0 slate in the DuKane Conference.

Henry Ros is 16-3 and junior Bharath Sudharsen is 13-3.

The top doubles duo of David Hill and Dylan Wallace is 12-4.

"We want to win the DuKane Conference and win the sectional at Willowbrook," said North coach Eric Laird. "We want to qualify one singles player and at least one doubles team. We want those kids to go deep in the state tournament."

YORK

The Dukes are currently 9-5-3 overall and 2-2 in West Suburban Conference Silver play.

The injury-plagued Dukes are led by top singles players Nate Yu with an 11-9 record,

York garnered top honors at the Maine South invite. The doubles teams of Anthony Amieri/Brennen Maxiener (No. 1); Kiernan Goldstein/Jason DeMott (No. 2) and Adam Fennel/Alex Flores (No. 3) all had first place efforts.

Yu was second and No. 2 singles player Evan Chew had a fourth place effort.

Courtney Bison's crew was fifth at the Hersey invitational April 8 and picked up a big nonconference win against Prospect April 22.

"We are growing each match," said Bison. "We continue to improve. We have mental toughness and stamina."

York will host conference May 13-14 and the 2A sectional May 20.

"We have had to revamp our lineup," said the York coach. "We have had to refine our game."