Scouting the DuPage County and Fox Valley boys tennis season
Here’s a look at what to expect this spring for boys tennis teams in DuPage County and the Fox Valley.
ADDISON TRAIL
Sophomore William Vasquez is the top player back for the Blazers.
Addison Trail, under the direction of 20th year coach Chris Grice, was seventh in the West Suburban Gold a year ago.
"We would like move up a spot to sixth in the conference," said Grice. “We have a lot of players who are in their first and second years of playing tennis."
AURORA CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Back for the Chargers are junior Justin Biachi, and sophomores Nick Hipp, Aiden Melekus, Leo Martinez, Caleb Smith, Dominic Buttice and Nick Ragsdale.
Newcomers are sophomores Mani Lares and Jesus Ovando, and freshmen Colin Bloemker, Brecken Oester, Gabe Jimenez and Tim Ragsdale.
ACC hopes to improve on a 3-11 overall record and 2-6 mark in the Catholic League.
“We are in the second year of a rebuild," said coach Tammy Whited. ”The returners are looking strong and newcomers are looking good.“
BARTLETT
The Hawks went 9-11 overall and tied for second in the Upstate Eight Conference East in 2025. Their top returner is junior state qualifier Oskar Tredota (18-15).
Others back are seniors Tej Patel (18-7), Ayyan Qureshi, Jhavei Somarish, Dylan Alvarez, Keshav Barat, Aakash Patel and junior Mevada Prat to go with senior newcomers seniors Sheirzad Alharny and Filip Mucha and sophomore Julian Vargas.
BATAVIA
Brad Nelson's troops were 5-2 in the DuKane Conference, 11-9 overall, second in the St Charles North sectional and 52nd in the state in Class 2A last year.
The Bulldogs won the Glenbard South and Crystal Lake Central invitationals and were third at Maine South.
The doubles teams of senior Eric Otten and junior Caleb Sharda along with seniors Matt Vrba and Jack Nelson (20-12) were state qualifiers a year ago.
Others back are seniors Kalvin Wolffe (14-14), Jonathan Folkerts, Kush Adhvarya and Lucas Hubert and sophomore Brayden Korn (18-8).
Newcomers are seniors Kasey Hulbert, Hayden Lacenlale, Patrick Burns and Nick Mowen along with juniors Matt Thorne and Sam Ellis.
“We have the depth to finish in the top three in the conference,” Nelson said. “Wheaton North is the favorite. We want to repeat at Glenbard South and Crystal Lake Central and do well at Maine South and Troy Triad. The kids worked hard in the off-season. We are competitive up and down the lineup. We play Waubonsie Valley, Benet, Oswego and West Aurora in our first matches. Those teams will test us."
BENET ACADEMY
Tom Castronovo, who coached 16 years at St. Francis, takes over for Michael Hand, who coached 40 years for the Redwings.
The state qualifying doubles team of senior Hugh Davis and sophomore Charlie Flavin is back.
Other returners are seniors Peter Charuk (19-14), Patrick Crompton and Allstair McCarter (12-12).
Newcomers are senior Colby English, junior Dan Laguatan, sophomores Jack Dills, James McEvoy and Arjun Patel along with freshmen Max Cruz, Ian DiSanto, Nolan Price, Declan Robinson, Max Van Vuren and Dan Reba.
"We have six talented freshmen and this is the youngest team I have coached," said Castronovo. “There is so much raw talent. I need to harness the talent and find the batting order quickly. It is exciting to see what we can do."
CARY-GROVE
The Trojans were 15-5-1 overall and were tied for second in the Fox Valley Conference in 2025. Scott Duncan takes over for Amanda Schueltze.
Returners are seniors Chris Ptaszek, Halen Young, Mason Rebscher and Zach Nygren along with juniors Finn Karlovsky Joe Reidel and Owen Lonegren.
Newcomers are seniors Ricky Anderson, Sahil Rao and William Hartmann, juniors Colton Winkelmann and Curran Ostrowski and sophomore Brady Watkinson.
“Amanda did a fantastic job for 15 years,” said Duncan. “These kids have been working hard since May. I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with them."
CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH
Seniors Zeke Boldman (31-7, 3-2 at Class 1A state meet) and Eryk Bucior (24-13, 1-2) return. Boldman and Bucior will form a doubles team this season.
Senior Bayel Muktar and sophomore Nazar Muktar were 15-13 and state qualifiers a year ago. The Muktars will play singles this year.
Newcomers are senior Tengis Khatanbaatar, junior Jake Pasek and sophomore Kevin Opiela.
South was sixth in the Fox Valley Conference regular season and sixth in the FVC tournament.
"The number of boys on the team has increased in all three years," said coach Mark Scheurich. “We want to improve on the FVC standings. We have a deeper varsity squad than we have had the last two years. We are looking forward to seeing what the boys can do."
DOWNERS GROVE NORTH
The Trojans, coached by Dana Graczyk and a member of the West Suburban Silver, return sophomore Ty Nguyen and Ty Schroeder.
Seniors looking to contribute are Matt Brenner, Max Berger, Nathan Amidej, Owen Scholz, Zander Bruno, Sachin Sinnapan, Saavan Choksi, Brenden Hecht and Caden Lusk, joined by freshmen Lucas Schroeder and Zain Gigani
“We have a solid lineup," said Graczyk. ”We have 12 seniors and nine on varsity. We are looking for an amazing season. We are lucky we have three freshmen to build for the future programs.“
DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH
The Mustangs are seeking a seventh straight West Suburban Gold title. Sophomore Ryan Roumenov was a Class 2A state qualifier as a freshman. Three-year varsity performer senior Koko Dimitrakos is back.
"The main goal is to compete against the top teams in the state," said coach Josh Forst. “We want to well in the state series, sectional and state meet."
ELGIN
The Maroons, under 15th-year coach Sonepheth Rattana, tied for second place in the Upstate Eight Conference West with West Aurora a year ago.
With nine players with varsity experience back, the Maroons hope to improve.
Seniors Tim Cellar (11-8), Devin DeKarske, Kish Patel, Ilan Mendez, Alejandro Falcon, Demetrio Ramirez and Kyle Phimmavong and juniors Abhinav Arvind (10-8) and Martin Dominguez return, while freshman Milan Ghayal is hoping to break into the lineup.
“We are a senior heavy team,” said the veteran coach. “Most of our players back played varsity a year ago. We want to continue to grow as a team.”
FENTON
The Bison, under the direction of 24th-year coach Jeff Porto, return seniors Sean Saltenberger, Kacper Grych, Oliver Kuchera, Piotr Szostak and Angel Lemus along with juniors Garrett Wawczak and Brayden Lavric.
Newcomers are juniors Jonah Witt, Rodrigo Sanchez and Manny Flores along with sophomores Jan Szoztek, Kyle Saltenberger and Dominick Morzy.
“We want to finish in the top three in the conference (Upstate Eight East),” said Porto.
GENEVA
Back for first-year coach Doug Ross are seniors Will Perez, Karill Luniv and Will Hansberger along with junior Tyler Haney and sophomore Levi Tucker.
Seeking court time are newcomers seniors Colton Clausen and Hamza Faruqi, juniors Cameron Fozo, Ian Hansberger, Sam Levin, Tim McQuestin and Blake Oleson along with sophomores Augustus Germann and Cole Hecker.
GLENBARD EAST
The Rams were second in the Upstate Eight Conference East and second in the 2A sectional finishing behind York.
State qualifiers back are seniors Evan Fine (Loras, 26-8), Alex Jovanovic (26-8) and Finn Talbot (18-5).
Seniors Aaron Hallerud, Giuseppe Maltese, Arnaz Mehta and Aidan Walsh along with juniors Jaden Kwon, Gabriel Milian and Mark Szczybura also return, joined by newcomers Joe Burkett, a senior, and freshman Dan Piticavong.
"The UEC East is very strong with many strong programs," said coach Troy Huber. “Glenbard South and R-B (Riverside Brookfield) are strong and consistent programs. Fenton, Streamwood and West Chicago have strong lineups. We have a strong group of returners with eight seniors. We have a mix of experience with new energy."
GLENBARD NORTH
The Panthers return seniors Andrew Murkowski and Josh Idyaly.
"We want to compete and be competitive in the DuKane Conference," said coach Kevin Tonn. “We need to get our team playing their best tennis come postseason.”
GLENBARD SOUTH
The Raiders are the defending Upstate Eight Conference East Division champs and were champions of the Class 1A St. Francis sectional in 2025.
Sophomore state qualifiers returning are Andrew Benesch and Amir Mehta. Others back are seniors Alex Long and Ashrith Valluri along with junior Simon Kubik and sophomores Micah Williamson and Cameron Abbott.
Newcomers are juniors Sergio Luna, Michael McIntyre, Azam Munseer, Will Pope and Alexis Velasquez along with freshman David Kiss.
"Glenbard East has a lot of seniors back and have to be considered the favorites in the conference," said coach Wade Hardtke. “Riverside-Brookfield has to be considered a challenger. We lost a lot of seniors we need to replace.”
GLENBARD WEST
The Hilltoppers were fifth in the rugged West Suburban Silver, third in the 2A sectional and 46th at the state meet.
Coach Tad Keely, with nine returners, hopes to improve on last season's slate.
Back for the Hilltoppers are seniors Nick Harding, Charles McDonald and Kevin Pinto along with juniors Charlie Mosciki, Duncan Rowley, Cormac Annan, Adler Wang, Cole Lisook and MJ Wargin.
Newcomers battling for court time are senior Konstantin Van Mark and freshmen John Creswell and Nolan Wang.
"We have a decent amount of returners and our depth is our strong suit,“ said Keely. ”We will see how we stand early playing at the St. Charles North, Hersey and Naperville North invites. We are eager to see where we stand in the mighty West Suburban. The Silver will be tough. We want to compete at the top of the conference. After Hinsdale Central, other heavy hitters are Lyons, Oak Park-River Forest and York.“
HAMPSHIRE
The Whip-Purs hope to improve on an eighth-place finish in the Fox Valley Conference tournament a year ago.
Back for coach Jonathan Okon are seniors Sawyer Davis and Andrew Kalinowski juniors Jacob Chao and Christian Perez (14-10) and sophomore Carter Dustin (14-9).
Newcomers are seniors Nick King and Brandon Regalado and juniors Matt Herzing, Anthony Marino, Parth Patel, Rudraks Patel and Andre Suello.
"We graduated eight seniors from last year but have a good group of returners," said Okon. “We have a nice mix of juniors and seniors. The talent on the roster has improved. The FVC is tough and we play a tough nonconference schedule. Every time we take the court we have five players who have a season of experience and conference play under their belts."
HINSDALE CENTRAL
Dynasty might be the word to describe the Red Devils boys tennis program under the direction of Peter Alex.
Winners of four straight 2A titles, its seems like the Red Devils have the firepower and talent to claim a fifth consecutive state title.
The senior doubles team of Nicholas Marringa and Kyle McCann were second in the state a year while posting a 27-1 record. Senior Barry Zhu was sixth in Class 2A singles.
Other returners are seniors Amir Khan, Logan Milton, Nicholas Perrelli and Richard Zang, juniors Braden LeBaron, James Stangle, Patrick Wang and Vedh White along with sophomores Avinash Buchupelli, Anik Shirshat and David Waterman.
Newcomers are seniors Nabell Hussain and Armain Jain, juniors Ketan Shah, Ismail Khan, Jaylen Doshi, George Maragos and Konstantine Reveliotis, sophomores Alex Andrade, Craig Lin and Zayah Shaikh, and freshmen Andy Dong, Jameson Fajardo and Adler Hung,
“We were first in the conference, first in the sectionals and first in the state (2A)," said coach Peter Alex. ”We would like to double those efforts this year and win a fifth straight state championship. It is a pleasure to play in the Silver Division. There are a lot of strong schools with a wonderful history.“
HUNTLEY
Coach Kris Grabner certainly has a veteran team in 2026.
The Red Raiders return all three singles players and four doubles teams from last season's squad which finished third in the Fox Valley Conference and third in the Cary-Grove sectional.
The top returner is senior state qualifier Will Geske (Haverford College). Other singles players back are junior Rithwik Depala and sophomore Ethan Cronin.
The top doubles team and state qualifiers juniors Tanash Gulatti and Vivek Yandamari return. So does the second doubles team, senior Eashan Cheruki and sophomore Adam Stec, third doubles team, senior Habib Halloway-junior Leo Medina (out with injury) and the fourth doubles team of senior Chanakya Adepu and junior Shivan Brahmbutt.
Newcomers are senior Virgile Dugut and freshman Lucas Reed.
"We went to fifth in the conference to third the last two years,“ said Grabner. ”We want to compete for a FVC title and should be a contender. We want to win a sectional championship and qualify multiple players for the state tournament. We want Will Geske to be a major player in the state singles draw."
JACOBS
Coach Jon Betts, who has 358 career wins in 20 years, is coming off a Fox Valley Conference championship and a sectional runner-up spot to Barrington in the Cary-Grove 2A sectional. The Golden Eagles finished 22nd in Class 2A.
Junior Jack Soto and sophomore Samuel Santa Ines are returning state qualifiers while other returners include seniors Zach Hallenbeck, Dylan Heard, Sohan Kaira and Kurtis Komatoski, junior Ronnav Desmukh and sophomore Sapanhila Daryan.
Newcomers are senior Eashan Immadi and JJ Jones, juniors Brendan Mau, Lukas Gober and Lyon Sapahila and sophomores Connor Hoth and Svilen Kolev.
"We have a great group of talented players," said Betts. “Our top of the lineup are proven players. We have depth and a demanding schedule. We are playing top teams like Fremd, Dunlap and Edwardsville. Huntley is certainly the team to beat in the conference. The team have put the work throughout the off-season. The kids are hungry and hard working. This group is looking to challenge for the conference championship."
LAKE PARK
The Lancers, under first-year coach Craig Cichowicz, return seniors Phil Dudka and Maksh Malhotra along with junior Mike Cozzi.
Newcomers are freshmen Rishan Shah and Jacob Frankel.
"It is a rebuilding year," said Cichowicz. “We have a young roster with two seniors. We are excited about the group’s potential and growth as we progress and continue to develop and compete at a high level.”
MARMION
First-year coach Dave Richert’s squad returns senior Ben Graft, who is a three-time Class 1A state qualifier.
Also back are seniors AJ Mumford, Owen Theriault and Sam Pall along with juniors Owen Cousins and Jack Sitar.
METEA VALLEY
The Mustangs were fourth in the DVC, third in a 2A sectional and posted an 11-5 dual meet record in 2025.
The senior doubles team of Ameya Tyagi-Rish Ralker was third team all-state. The doubles duo of senior Carter Donnelly and junior Royce Lelani qualified for state.
Returners are seniors Kaushik Nanduru, Dhnush Chittaluri, Henry Oyekami and Nikash Divakaruni along with juniors Sakthi Karthikeyan and Nihael Sreekath.
“We want to be at the top of the conference," said coach Kole Clousing. ”We should have a good season. We want to win 90 percent of our matches and have a couple of state qualifiers."
NAPERVILLE CENTRAL
The Redhawks were fifth in the DVC and third in the sectional last year. Junior Jason Cheng is the lone state qualifier back for coach Dan Goldstein, in his 21st year.
Others on the roster include seniors Nicholas Tangedahl, Nolan Getting and Isaac Lu, juniors Usman Faruqi, Arjun Sud, Kendall Tai Ngheim, Kinsler Tai Mghein, Ajay Singh, Neel Samal, Nimai Nagjreddy, Sreem Patnuru and Ashton Eppler and sophomores Carter Bird, Henry Magyan, Zachary Walsh, Kellen Bollenberg, Nathaniel Stiles, Noah Mehi, Shiva Dondapatti, Aditya Julka, Ayash Kar, Grayson Murray, Aiden Georgias and Adriel Jathra Shheran.
Freshmen include Zakariya Qurrum, Aaron Zhu, Kayen Basrai and Adith Bhartur.
NAPERVILLE NORTH
The Huskies were Class 2A sectional champs and were second in the DuPage Valley Conference in 2025 with state qualifiers junior Yanson Lew and sophomore Ritvik Korrapati back.
Other returners with varsity experience are senior Noah Eun and sophomore Aayush Putanbeker while junior Aarav Soni joins the team.
"We want to compete for a DVC title," said coach Heather Henricksen. “This team is young and we want to get as many state qualifiers to the state finals again as we can."
NEUQUA VALLEY
The Wildcats were second in the DuPage Valley Conference and 2A sectional behind Waubonsie Valley.
Junior Jayden Chiou is the lone state qualifier back.
Others back are seniors Boris Sirotkin, Alp Tunar, Ishaan Raghav and Akhil Matham along with junior Shaurya Kandhuri and sophomores Keshav Menon and Ibrahim Faruqi.
"The DVC is always tough," said coach William Rose. “Most schools graduated their top players. We retain our top three singles players. We have some big shoes to fill but we have some talented players coming up. We are focused on maximizing our potential. Waubonsie Valley will be tough again. We want to keep pace with the rest of the DVC.”
Newcomers include seniors Kudzi Makoni, Stefan Egelja, Avi Punwani and Aarush Kumar along with juniors Samir Sahdev and Abhi Patel and sophomore Andrew Chen.
ST. CHARLES EAST
The Saints were second in the DuKane Conference and third in the rugged St. Charles North sectional last year led by senior Tiege Donehoo, who was 28-4 and a state qualifier.
Also back are seniors Bob Livermore, Tommy Sloncen and Zach Powers along with junior Ryan Cameron (all-conference) and sophomores Wes Sternowski (all-conference) and John Jacob.
"We were second in the conference last season and are hoping for a top spot this season," said coach Robert Livermore.
ST. CHARLES NORTH
Veteran coach Sean Masoncup, who has 242 wins in 16 years, welcomes back seniors Josh Denz, Jacob Bartel, Aiden Gorski, Ishaan Patel, Neel Bhate, Yaseen Khan and Krishna Pourpui.
Newcomers are seniors Vincent Lin and Robert Stan along with sophomore Rehan Girniwala.
"We want to be competitive in every match," said Masoncup. “The Saints (St Charles East) will be the top dogs in the conference. Both Wheatons and Batavia will be strong. We want to push the Saints, the two Wheatons and Batavia. We want to get better every day. We want to get some quality state qualifiers. This should be a great year for tennis in the area."
ST. FRANCIS
First-year coach Nate Dell welcomes back seniors Umar Bajwa, Jack Benton, Tommy Kacedan, Ben Kolb, Henry Kopec, Joey Los and Jackson Zeman along with sophomore Mark Andrzejewski. Bajwa posted a 31-7 record and sixth at the Class 1A state finals. Zeman was a state qualifier a year ago.
Newcomers are senior Kellen Carroll and Theodore Marinc along with freshmen Steve Remilius and Sean Rybacki.
TIMOTHY CHRISTIAN
The Trojans were second in the Chicagoland Conference, second in the Class 1A St. Francis sectional and 11th in the state.
Sophomore Hudson Tseng was fifth in the state in singles as a freshman. Senior Elliott Tandy is a three-time state qualifier. Tandy was 21-6 year ago.
Others back for coach Richard McLean are seniors Luke McCaully and Mattox Preitauer, juniors Michael Grandolfo and Danny Alcnedra and sophomores Merritt Stolzenbach, Evan Styczen.
Newcomers are junior Hunter Maxwell and freshmen Micah Barshinger and Haoren Han.
"We want to defeat Wheaton Academy who won the conference last year," said cpach Richard McLean. “Marian Central will also be a challenge for the conference championship. We play a challenging schedule -- Nazareth, St. Francis, DePaul Prep, Marmion, Waubonsie Valley, Fenwick and Aurora Central Catholic. We want to improve and grow as a team."
WEST AURORA
The Blackhawks are the defending Upstate Eight Conference West champs and took fourth in the sectionals.
Coach Bill Stanley returns 10 players including seven seniors.
Back for West are seniors Tim Plummer (17-6), Dexter McWilliams, Tyler Byrne (9-7), Lucas Van Lear (18-6), Jon Hoskins (11-6), Cole Loomer (17-6) and Noah Fuller along with juniors Nolan Wyeth (13-8), Ayden Wicks (9-8) and Josh Hunt (9-8).
Senior newcomer Grant Klausner seeks court time.
"We want to repeat as conference champs, continue to improve and be competitive," said Stanley. “We will step up to the challenge. We are a senior heavy team and all players were locked in during the non-tennis season. We want to continue get better and send a player or two to the state finals.”
WHEATON ACADEMY
First-year coach Jonathan Folkerts would like his Warriors to repeat as Chicagoland Christian Conference champions.
Senior Elliott Poland returns as a state qualifier. Other returners are senior Eligh Arrelano, juniors Luke Pennings and John Zeng and sophomores Drew Tuurie, Charlie Sias and Brody Klein.
Newcomers are senior Billy Yang, juniors Ryan Norris, Jack Shales, Enoch Chen and David Li, sophomore Keesen Kihnke and freshmen Alex Dong and Harvey Guevera.
WHEATON NORTH
The Falcons, who have won six straight DuKane Conference titles, return junior state qualifier Sam Hill (1-2 record at state finals). Other returners are senior Brett Wiacek and juniors Henry Jonas, Evan Ciotti, Elliot Conway and Charlie Sindelar. Newcomers are junior Ruven Robinson and sophomores Zayd Hussian Zayd Hussain, Jon Boyce, Will Rusin and freshman Andrew Ciotti.
"We always want to win the DKC," said coach Eric Laird. “There are five or six teams that could win the conference title. It should be a fun, contested season. We have our work cut out for us. We want to have multiple positions (who could) go to the state tournament."
WHEATON WARRENVILLE SOUTH
The Tigers tied for second in the DuKane Conference and were fourth in the sectionals, and they return seniors Mike Hauenstein and Jack Landin along with junior Mike Medanic.
Newcomers are sophomores Ian Baughman and Eli Long and freshman Grant Larson.
"We want to finish in the top three in the DuKane Conference," said coach Patti Clousing. “We want to get as many players to the state tournament as possible."
WILLLOWBROOK
The Warriors were third in the West Suburban Gold and had a 11-4 dual meet record in 2025.
Senior singles players Brogan Byrne and Mark Rainey are back along with the senior doubles team of Corbin Tomasello and Danny Rocha.
Newcomers for coach Ed Delacruz are seniors Ryan Pletsch and Nathan Leal along with junior Kyle May.
YORK
The Dukes, under the guidance of first-year coach Josh Wittenburg, return senior state qualifier Kieran Goldstein.
Other returners are seniors Jason DeMott and Finley Humpherson, juniors Liam Pontin (14-3) and Ved Sule and sophomore Mustafa Mir.
Newcomers are senior William Van Meir, juniors Aiden Chmiel and Evan Jaunich, sophomores John Jaworek, Nathan Ries and Arjun Shuaipaj and freshman Liam Smith.
"The Silver (WSCC) is loaded,“ said Wittenberg. ”All matches with be tough. We have no home matches due to the construction of new tennis courts at Berens Park. The York Dukes will be road warriors in 2026. The seniors need to take the leadership role. We have eight returners and eight newcomers. If the new guys adjust to varsity play the better off we will be."