Stevenson serves up sectional victories
An afternoon rain may chased the final round indoors, but that wasn’t far enough away for opponents to be clear of David Packowitz and Ross Putterman.
The Stevenson duo dominated the field on Saturday — first outdoors at the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex, then later at the indoor courts of the Marriott Lincolnshire — to help lead the Patriots to a sectional team title over Mid-Suburban League champ Fremd.
The Patriots netted the trophy with 35 points, followed by the Vikings at 23. Buffalo Grove (12), Prospect (8) and Vernon Hills (6), led by state qualifier Ishmail Kadyrov (21-5), rounded out the top five teams.
“It’s hard to believe the final week of the season, in our last year of high school is already here,” said Packowitz, who along with his great friend moved their overall record to a sparkling 27-0 after dispatching Fremd’s Nick Makowiecki-Maciej Niemcyzk in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) to earn their championship rings. “But we’ve positioned ourselves well for the stretch run next week, and just as importantly, so has our team after we were able to get all four teams through to help give us great chance in the team race as well.”
“We saw (former Patriots singles star) Chris Speer here on Friday,” said Putterman, “and it’s hard to believe he will be a senior in college next year, and that David and I are finishing up our high school career. It goes so fast, but we’ve put this sectional behind us and will get ourself ready for the biggest tournament left for us to win.”
“We were just outclassed today,” said Fremd coach Matt Duncan after his top team, Makowiecki/Niemcyzk (15-3), were rolled by the Patriots express 6-2, 6-1.
“Those guys are so good, and just so efficient, something our guys could be better at, but to lose to a team (twice) this season which is on pace to win the state title isn’t anything to be ashamed of,” said Duncan.
Earlier, Duncan watched his No. 2 team, Joe Cantieri and Erik Rosencrans, swept quickly into the third-place match by the Stevenson duo. Cantieri/Rosencrans then dropped another, this time to the Stevenson No. 2 team of Ryan Buxbaum-Andrew Komarov (21-5) to finish fourth overall.
“That first match with Stevenson’s top team was over so quick,” said Rosencrans, “but (Friday) was such a big day for us to qualify into the state tournament, which Joe and I have had our eyes on ever since we were put together.”
“Coach (Duncan) had mentioned yesterday how we had gotten down a little when we lost our second set to (Prospect) to force a third set,” said Cantieri, “but the great thing about Erik and I is we never stay down for long, and regardless of the score, we always find a way to get back into a match. We’re kind of the comeback kids.”
Following a straight-set defeat to eventual champ Jeremy Bush (23-4) of Stevenson, Fremd’s top singles player, Matt Burkhardt, earned a third-place medal after defeating Kadyrov 6-1, 6-4.
Bush earned a 6-0, 6-1 decision over teammate Brian Kim (22-9) in the singles title match indoors.
“I feel like I’ve come a long way since last season, and that it’s a reasonable expectation to earn a 9-16 seed, with the opportunity to have a good run in the front draw on Thursday, and with the chance of playing a higher seed on Friday as well,” said Bush, who admits he thought he might be destined to play doubles this season after hearing that both Packowitz and Putterman were returning for their senior year.
“When I heard David and Ross were coming back, I immediately thought they would be our No. 1 and 2 guys, so I went to coach (Tom) Stanhope and asked him where I would be in our lineup.
“I was really nervous to ask, and although I would have done whatever was best for the team, I am really glad that David and Ross are at dubs, and are the best in the state — and that I can play singles, and help our team from that position.”
Bush has taken nothing for granted, however, and his off-season regimen, which has included extensive fitness work and stretching, appears to have been one of the keys to an exceptional first full year at singles. He finished 4-2 in singles play in the state tournament last year as a freshman.
“We’re excited about what we can do next week individually, as well as in the team race,” said Stanhope. “We’ll have a full team there, and feel that we can have a solid first day with all of our guys, who are capable of staying in the front draw to earn important points while also having the ability to do the same things should they fall into the backdraw anywhere along the way.”
Vernon Hills coach Doug Gerber is eager to see the school name on the tournament toteboard this coming Thursday, when his sophomore sensation takes the court in his initial appearance at the tournament.
“We didn’t have the results that we had hoped for today, but (Kadyrov) was able to survive a very tough sectional, and in the next couple of days he can clean a few things up, and then we’ll wait and see where he fits in the 64-man field,” said Gerber. “I felt he played both (Kim) and Burkhardt well.”