Boys tennis: History for Conant, heroics from Hristov

The backward baseball caps stayed soaked. Shirts clung to backs. Players bent between points, hands on knees, searching for air in the thick Saturday heat at Conant.

Then Maksim Hristov uncorked 3 consecutive aces to end it.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The Buffalo Grove senior and Louisville commit capped a stirring comeback Saturday afternoon, rallying past reigning Class 2A state singles champion Matthew Sikorski of Hersey 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 to capture the No. 1 singles title at the Mid-Suburban League boys tennis tournament.

At other sites, meanwhile, another breakthrough was unfolding.

Conant made program history, winning its first MSL tournament championship with 53 points to edge defending champion Barrington (51). Fremd finished third with 38 points, followed by Hersey (32), Buffalo Grove (25), Prospect (21) and Elk Grove (19).

The Cougars earned the title in impressive fashion, capturing 4 of the tournament’s 7 flight championships after entering the weekend with coach Matt Marks’ preseason mantra echoing throughout the spring.

“Conference, conference, conference.”

“This was a bucket list item,” said Marks, who has guided the school’s girls tennis program to three straight MSL titles. “We’d won sectional titles. Finished second at state last spring. But a conference championship? Never.”

Hristov’s title run, though, supplied the tournament’s loudest buzz.

His first set against Sikorski looked nothing like the next two. Sikorski hammered deep groundstrokes to both corners, mixed in drop shots and controlled rallies while Hristov dealt with a tightening lower back.

Then the match flipped.

Hristov began carving angles, attacking the net and dictating points with the complete arsenal that has made him one of the state’s most feared players in his first high school season. Groundstrokes. Touch shots. Volleys. Serves that sounded like sonic booms.

“Streaky match,” Hristov said with a grin afterward.

“Willpower got me through that match,” added Hristov, who first played Sikorski — and lost — when both were 11. “After losing that first set, I asked myself, ‘Do I want to stay out here for another hour or two?’ Yes, I did. I didn’t have anything better to do. I love playing tennis.

“I love playing for my team.”

Buffalo Grove coach Michael Naughton believes that last part matters most.

“When he’s on, his ability to create angles is outstanding,” Naughton said. “The way his mind sees points develop in his favor … tennis is a chess game to him.

“But here’s the best thing about Maksim, the mature, thoughtful kid: It’s never about him at meets; it’s always about the Bison.”

Conant countered star power with depth.

Sophomore Carter Strilich rolled to the No. 2 singles title, beating Krish Handa of Palatine 6-0, 6-1 in the final after dropping only 1 game in 3 matches all weekend.

Puneeth Chandrasekaran won the No. 3 singles crown with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Barrington’s Aydan Alam, while the No. 1 doubles tandem of Austin Wu and Nathan Desai — the latter shod in neon-orange sneakers — defeated Barrington’s Hadi Dossani and Sohan Yousfi 6-3, 7-5.

“Disrupting their rhythm,” Wu said of the key after the Cougars avenged a loss to the Broncos duo last month.

Conant also got a title from No. 2 doubles pair Haruki Watanabe and Avi Singhal, who edged Barrington’s Omkar Gowda/ Shian Mittal 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Barrington captured the No. 3 doubles title behind Aarush Joshi and Dhruv Patari and the No. 4 doubles championship with Vishal Chunduri and Ishan Gowda.

Elk Grove also made noise.

Senior Colin Podgorski reached the No. 2 singles semifinals after upsetting the Nos. 5 and 4 seeds, while freshman Georgie Vujanic advanced to the No. 3 singles semis.

“Elk Grove boys tennis had never advanced two singles players to the semifinals until this weekend,” fourth-year Grenadiers coach David Dompke said. “The guys have bought in and helped turn this program around.”

Other top-three placers included Fremd’s Kristof Kovacs/Karthik Senthil (2nd, No. 3 doubles); Conant’s Arsen Anastasov/Alex Tamburella (2nd, No. 4 doubles); Barrington’s Derrick Katayama (3rd, No. 1 singles); Barrington’s Arav Yousfi (3rd, No. 2 singles); Fremd’s Rihaan Ghia (3rd, No. 3 singles); Fremd’s Stanley Zeng/Koki Wakita (3rd, No. 1 doubles); Fremd’s Mantra Mittal/Aditya Anand (3rd, No. 2 doubles); Hersey’s Charlie Koclanis/Will Baik (3rd, No. 3 doubles); and Fremd’s Ryan Lee/Varun Hegde (3rd, No. 4 doubles).

Maximus Rysz (No. 1 singles) and Peyton Kittivat/Raj Mehta (No. 3 doubles) combined for 10 of Conant’s team points with their fourth-place showings.

“We have great respect for what Conant has done this year — the last few years, really,” Barrington coach John Roncone said.

“Our boys,” he added, “enjoy the opportunity to play their best in the biggest moments at a major meet like this one. It’s a good primer for what’s to come next week at sectionals and then at state.”