Boys tennis: Kawczysnki’s late win pushes Fremd past Hersey

Playing No. 3 singles on Saturday at the Hersey boys tennis invite in Arlington Heights, Jacek Kawczynski found himself playing in the final match of the annual eight-team dual event.

But the junior playing his second year on the Fremd varsity wasn't feeling pressure even though he knew the outcome of his match with Hersey's Ben Werling would decide the championship of the meet.

Sure enough, Kawczysnki was able to pull out a 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 (tiebreaker) triumph to give Fremd its second straight title.

"Last year, I felt pressure quite a bit during my matches but this year I just didn't feel that much," said Kawczynski, who coincidentally also won a tiebreaker against Hersey last year, too.

"I feel like the mental game is really important and I've worked on that the last few years. I think it's all about consistency. I think all my favorite tennis players like (Novak) Djokovic are super consistent. Coach (Johnny) Kent has taught us that consistency in our practices. I think when you have that in your matches it’s that much more difficult for your opponent to take the racket out of your hands."

Kawczysnki putting the championship plaque into Fremd's hands brought a smile to Kent, now in his third season as the coach.

"That's was huge from Jacek," said Kent, whose team is off to a 4-0 start. "And he usually doesn't play singles for us. He was playing singles because we had someone at the math team state and he did a great job stepping in there and winning that match for us today."

Fremd won the title over runner-up Hersey followed by third-place finisher Edwardsville. Next came Lane Tech, York, Glenbard West, Prospect and Buffalo Grove.

"To see a kid like Jacek who works so hard every single day come out there and to be the one we rely on is cool," said Kent, who played tennis at Fremd (2009 grad). “You never know who you're going to have to rely on in a particular match or meet.That's the beauty of team dual matches, you never know which match is going to matter the most."

One match at No. 1 doubles featured a pair of D-1 recruits on both sides of the net.

Hersey's team of MIchigan State-bound senior Mitch Sheldon and freshman Matt Sikorski defeated Xavier pledge and defending Class 2A state singles champ Andrew Spurk and Amaye Shyani, 6-2, 6-2.

"Matt Sikorski is a very talented kid," said Hersey ninth-year coach Andy Walton. "Playing with a kid like Mitch gives Matt a great role model and sets a good tone for what high school tennis is all about. That's a special thing. And I think Matt had his sights set on playing college tennis as well. And we'll see what the other half of Fremd's doubles team (Shynai) does next year. That was really a high-intensity, solid doubles match out there."

Sikorski felt his chemistry with Sheldon was a key to the win.

"And just being aggressive at the net,” he said. "I felt really good playing with Mitch. It was a great start to the season for us."

Sheldon also felt being aggressive was a key factor to the success with Sikorski.

"And also going after all the shots which Matt is really good at," said Sheldon, who knew Sikorski before high school from a group that plays at a Lincolnshire tennis club. "He is always super aggressive. I think our games match up well when we play doubles."

Fremd won No. 1 singles with Shashwat Srivtvasa (top eight at state last year) and, No. 2 with Vedanth Srihari.

Hersey also won No. 2 doubles (Sam Yeh and Andrew Weber) and No. 3 doubles (Tykle Wentik and Anthony Emme) while Fremd took No. 4 with Ethan Rybka and Jason Li.

"Fremd (third at state last spring and fourth in 2022) is a powerhouse," said Walton, whose team took sixth in the state finals last spring. "We always figure that we will potentially run into Fremd in championships here and they always bring their best. They have a great team, heavy top to bottom. Their third and fourth doubles are incredibly talented and they did an awesome job today.

"Our team always battles. We always have a great upbeat mentality and play hard. I was really happy to watch our No. 1 and 2 doubles set a great tone for everyone on the team. For several of our guys this was their first day of competing this season. For their first matches, they really showed up and did a great job."

"We've gone back and forth with Hersey the last couple of years," Kent said. "It's been a lot of fun."