Scouting: MSL and ESCC boys golf
Boys golf
Mid-Suburban League tournament
When: 8:30 a.m. today
Where: Poplar Creek Golf Course, Hoffman Estates
Outlook: With a points system that gives equal weight to the regular conference season in addition to the MSL tourney scores, four teams come in with a realistic chance of claiming the title, led by undefeated Prospect.
The Knights (10-0) stormed out and haven't looked back in sweeping through their MSL schedule without a loss (they'll make up their final dual against Schaumburg in the first 9 holes of today's tournament). Jimi Poulos has been outstanding all season, and he's gotten lots of help from teammates Matt Maloney, Derek Leeney, Mike Sokolik, Tyler Beyak and Cael Kiess. "We knew we'd have a good team this year," said Prospect coach Tom Martindale, "and some things have gone our way. We were fortunate enough to beat Fremd at Hilldale, and we squeaked by Bararington at our place by 2 shots."
With only a tough loss to Prospect, youthful Barrington (10-1) can claim another MSL title with a strong performance. Junior Marc Ackermann has excelled this year while junior Nick Schiavi, sophomore Mike Stathakis, freshman Greg Conrad and senior Jimmy Cook have enjoyed consistent scoring. "These guys are mentally tough," said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach. " It's a young team, so they've had some ups and downs, but what I like about them is that they really love to compete. It'll be interesting especially if the predicted weather forecast for Tuesday (temps in the 50s and howling winds) holds up."
Ryan Starkman and Kevin Snodgrass have led Hersey to a 9-2 conference mark and also given longtime coach Dan Caporusso his 200th career victory. "We've gotten better each week as the year has progressed," said Caporusso. "This is a special team that I'll remember for a long time and we've played very strongly as of late, as evidenced by our solid showing at the big Wheeling Invitational at Chevy Chase. It (the MSL meet) will be a tough tournament, but we're on the improve."
Fremd's record of 8-3 could be significantly better had not senior Sean Jones, a two-time top 10 state finisher, gone down with injury midway through the conference season. Now Jones should compete today, which along with the recent stellar play from Brad Peterson, Brad Beutler, Chris Ramirez and Jackson Tworek, gives Fremd a major boost. But they'll have to win the tourney and hope Prospect finishes no higher than fourth to have a shot. "My outlook for the championship meet is the same that it is for all our other 18-hole tournaments - win," said Fremd coach Josh Teschner. "We feel confident that if we play our best we'll be awfully tough to beat."
East Suburban Catholic Conference tournament
When: 8 a.m. Thursday
Where: Pine Meadows Golf Course, Mundelein
Outlook: Two-time defending state champion St. Viator, with an 8-1 ESCC mark, will have a difficult test avenging its only conference defeat to unbeaten Carmel (9-0). The Corsairs are led by Jack Watson, who shot 3-under par earlier against the Lions. But Viator comes in confident behind the seasoned squad that includes Dan Stringfellow, Joe Carlson, Ken Wienckowski, Brad Klune and Joe Ferrari. "Our team is peaking at the right time," said Viator coach Jack Halpin, who's team also gets a big assist from a freshman, Luke DeTrempe, who Halpin says "came out of nowhere" to cement the final roster spots with two recent tournaments in the mid-70s. Stringfellow has a season-long scoring average of 71 while Carlson is the defending state individual champion. "Carmel should be the favorite," said Halpin, "based on their earlier win. But it's tough to bet against a tournament-proven team like us, especially with our tremendous depth."