Scouting DuPage County boys tennis
Top teams: Naperville Central, Hinsdale Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Benet, Glenbard West; Hinsdale South, Wheaton Academy.
Top players: Benet: Casey Schrader, so.; Danny McGuigan, so.; Ben Lee, so.; Danny Smith, sr.; Downers Grove North: Matthew Jazyk, fr.; Scravan Lingareddygari, so.; Nick Arand, sr.; Roy Southworth, fr.; Downers Grove South: Matt Garcia, jr.; Tanuj Singh, so.; Mitch Ludewig, jr.; Nolan Orth, sr.; Fenton: Jeff Andrews, jr.; Glenbard East: Samir Mehta, jr.; Sahil Mehta, jr.; Kevin Kruzel, so.; Georgi Solar, sr.; Brandon Pineda, sr.; Glenbard North: Sean Boland, jr.; Glenbard South: Alex Bergendorf, jr.; Omar Qurram, so; Glenbard West: Alex Kernagis, jr.; Griffin Foster, jr.; Christo Maltby, jr.; Andrew Immink, fr.; Hinsdale Central: Zack Elliott, sr.; Trevor Hamilton, sr.; Andrew Buhelos, sr.; Joe Daw, jr.; Daniel Schmelka, fr.; Ansh Shah, fr.; Hinsdale South: Namit Sambare, sr.; Joris Bizys, jr..; Josh Eisenschenk, sr.; Lake Park: Aayush Patel, jr.; Tyler Ferengul, jr.; Will Belmonte, sr.; Metea Valley: Ian Doyle, sr.; Aleks Schroeder, so.; Andre Ladron De Guevarar, jr.; Montini: Thomas Batka, sr.; David Batka, so.; Naperville Central: Ryan Roegner, sr.; Martin Matov, sr.; Ammaar Saeed, jr.; Joseph Li, so.; Mark Polowczak, sr.; Naveen Ramakrishnan, fr.; Naperville North: Kevin Zhang, sr.; Sam Liu, jr.; Ian Guppy, sr.; Preston Cho, jr.; Neuqua Valley: Rohan Sanjay, jr.; Alex Neuman, so.; Eddie Neuman, so.; Jared Bennick, jr.; Nolan George sr.; St. Francis: Danny Vale, jr.; Justin Fay, jr.; John Bibo, sr.; Matt Kazmirak, fr.; Timothy Christian: Joel Daniels, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Anthony Nguyen, sr.; Wheaton Academy: Ty Krill, sr.; Owen Setran, jr.; Tristan Hilson, so.; Devin Greeno, so.; Graham Shelton, so.; Jacob Williams, fr.; Caleb Hoogerheide, sr.; Wheaton North: Kevin Li, jr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Jack Lillig, sr.; Sunny Sirinit, so.; Paul Choi, fr.; Willowbrook: Drake Del Valle, jr; Ben Cavka, so.; Mark Lobdell, jr.; Abdullah Kaludi, sr.
Outlook: Naperville Central went all the way last year, winning the DuPage Valley Conference, sectional and then topping it off with the Redhawks boys' first state championship. And that was with a young team that graduated only Bill Zhang, who combined with Matov to finish fifth in the state doubles field. Leading this year's charge is Roegner, who finished third in state at singles. Roegner will be in the mix of players vying for a state singles title. The first order of business for coach Dan Brown is to find a doubles partner for Matov. It could be Saeed, who spent some time at doubles with Matov after they finished 13th at state together two years ago. Another possibility would be Ramakrishnan, the most varsity-ready member of a freshman class that's being hailed as the school's best since Roegner and company came in three years ago. "Roegner has improved his serve and every other aspect of his game," Brown said. Saeed and Polowczak, who played together last year, could be another lethal doubles combination. And Joseph Li is top-grade at either doubles or second singles. "All the guys worked hard in the off-season and everyone is better than last year," Brown said. "We just have to find the right combinations. Our goal is to once again be in the mix on Saturday at the state tourney."
Of course, the Redhawks' main competition at will come from New Trier and the always tough Hinsdale Central, which finished second and third, respectively, last year. But first Naperville Central must take care of a group of formidable opponents in the DuPage Valley Conference, which includes archrival Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Wheaton Warrenville South. Everyone but state doubles qualifier Kirk Williams is back for the second-place Huskies, as they seek to challenge their rivals for the top spot. Kevin Zhang, who just missed making state, will team with Williams' old partner Liu to form a quick, athletic doubles team that should make it to state. "Sam is a gutsy, exciting player while Kevin is steady, and consistent," Henricksen said. "They're good friends and they feed off each other." The Huskies, who have a deep group of returning veterans, also hope to qualify a second doubles team in Cho and Guppy, a couple of soccer players who specialize in an uptempo game. "Both of our doubles teams play a strong mental game and can fight through adversity," Henricksen said.
Third-place finisher Neuqua Valley is solid all the way through with a veteran lineup that will be augmented by four promising freshmen who made the varsity. Sanjay and George are, in the words of coach Trudy Bennorth, "wonderful doubles players" while Eddie Neuman made state from the two singles position. Bennick and Alex Neuman will figure prominently in the lineup somewhere as Bennorth has a lot of interchangeable parts. "I would love to beat Naperville Central," Bennorth said. "But I'd be OK with second in conference. We have to do better than last year in conference and sectionals. We didn't peak when we were supposed to. We'll be putting new doubles teams together and that should help."
Wheaton Warrenville South will be powerful at the top of the lineup with Sirinet, who made second-team all-state, should be much stronger this year. Lillig, who made all-state two years ago at doubles, should team with the outstanding freshman Choi to give the Tigers a first-class doubles team as well. "We have some strong returning people in support, but the top three should bring us within striking distance of the top three in conference," coach Patti Clousing said. "We could be a dark horse for one of those top three spots."
Conference rival Metea Valley returns the state-qualifying doubles team of Doyle and Schroeder. Beyond that, the Mustangs are young. Metea is coached by Kole Clousing, Patti's son, who made it clear when he kidded that his first goal for the season is to "beat my mom's team." The other DVC entries, which will be fighting to move up a spot or two in the standings, feature a number of top-flight singles players.
Wheaton North will rely on Li if they are to return to the top four in conference. "Kevin has one of the strongest mental games in the state," coach Eric Laird said. "He's super consistent and mentally tough." The Falcons return five other starters.
Lake Park's top player is Patel, one of the better singles in the area who was injured last year. Ferengul is a versatile player who will be an asset at singles or doubles.
The Waubonsie Valley singles lineup is powered by Nguyen, a three-year qualifier who finished top 16 at state. "He's hoping to make it to top eight this year," coach Phil Galow said. "He's more patient and more consistent." There's a slew of talented youngsters behind him.
Glenbard North coach Doug Clark calls thee talented Boland one of the best the Panthers have ever had.
Outside the DVC, Benet, spent last year in Class 1A, where it finished third in the state. The Redwings' Schrader and McGuigan finished fourth in doubles in the small-school division and they're eager to take on Class 2A opponents this year. Lee, a transfer from Glenbard West, and Smith head a potentially strong singles lineup. "Schrader and McGuigan are a dynamic team," said Benet coach Michael Hand. "They take the game seriously, but they enjoy each other on the court. It's a lot of fun watching them." Hand reports that the Redwings are not as deep as last year. "We're a little young," he said. "So we have some work to do to bring along some of the kids at the lower part of the lineup."
Glenbard East won its division in the Upstate Eight. Kruzel, who qualified for state as a freshman, leads a veteran team that should be a top contender again. "Kruzel's a lefty who gets to every ball, he's a fighter with a great forehand," coach Steve Hoogerheide said. The Mehta twins could pair up for doubles and they have high expectations to qualify for state. Pineda, who was injured last year, is a welcome addition to the team.
Hinsdale Central will continue to be the driving force in the West Suburban Silver. The Red Devils were third at state last year and second two years ago after four straight state championships. Elliott was in the top eight in singles, while Hamilton and Buhelos finished second at doubles. Daw, who was in the state doubles lineup, is bigger, stronger and faster and ready to form an excellent doubles team with freshman Shah. "Our goal every year is to win the state championship," coach John Naisbett said. "We expect to battle New Trier and Naperville Central again for that honor."
Hinsdale Central's continued dominance of the conference tends to overshadow the ongoing accomplishments of Glenbard West, a strong program that finished in the top 20 last year and looks even better this time around. Kernagis and Foster finished in the top 18 and Maltby was top 32 at singles. Immink joins this year to give the Hilltoppers another elite singles player. "Our goal this year is to finish top three in conference, win sectional and qualify an entire lineup for state," coach Tad Keely said. "We're a lot better and more experienced this year, so we should be able to turn some of our close losses into victories."
Downers Grove North has solid leaders in Jazyk and Lingareddygari. Defending champion Hinsdale South will try to fend off Downers Grove South and an improved Willowbrook in the West Suburban Gold, but the Hornets should be one of the top teams in Class 1A. Bizys was conference champ at first singles, while Sambare and Eisenschenk will join forces after their last year's doubles partners graduated. "Josh is ferocious at the net and Namit has a great transition game," coach Steve Snider said. "We could qualify our entire team, and our goal is to win state."
The Hornets' main competition in Class 1A will be from Wheaton Academy, who finished 10th last year, but the Warriors will have the phenomenal Krill back at first singles. He was injured last year and played doubles in order to help him heal. He and Setran finished sixth at state together. But Krill, who is 6-foot-7, is a first-class singles player who could take it all. "He has a great serve," coach Chris Jones said. "He's really quick, has powerful groundstrokes and great control of the ball. Numerous colleges are interested in him." Jones will have to find a new partner for Setran and it could be freshman Williams or senior Hoogerheide. "We're strong from top to bottom," Jones said.
Timothy Christian is led by Daniels who can play singles or doubles and coach Keith Mills is confident he has several other guys who can qualify for state. Montini's Batka brothers should team up this year after qualifying with graduated partners. St. Francis is young but has good potential with a future star in Kazmirak. Glenbard South is rebuilding, but Bergendorf at first singles is a gem.
Key dates: April 7: Benet Invite at Downers Grove South; April 10: Naperville Central at Neuqua Valley; April 14: Naperville North Invitational; Glenbard West Invite; April 21: Downers Grove South Team Invite; Raider Invitational at Glenbard South: April 27-28: Hersey Pitchford Invitational; April 26: Naperville Central at Naperville North; April 30: Naperville Central at Hinsdale Central; May 4-5 Benet Invite; Naper Valley Invite; May 5: Lange/Hildebrand Invite at Lake Park; May 11-12: Conference tournaments: May 18-19: Sectionals: May 24-26: State Finals.
- Neil Shalin