Naperville Central, Meadows' Galvin take charge

Two-time Mid-Suburban League boys tennis champion Mack Galvin went 3-0 Saturday on his home courts, but it was Naperville Central coming away with the top prize as the Redhawks defeated St. Charles East 5-1 in the final of the annual Meadows Tennis Invite in Rolling Meadows.

Brilliant sunshine and some long-awaited mild weather greeted the eight-team field, which was split in two to compete at both host Rolling Meadows and and Schaumburg.

Galvin took full advantage of his homecourt setting, with straight-set victories over Kyle Borst of St. Viator, Bill Zhang of Naperville Central and David Chon of Palatine.

"It was a pretty good day all the way around," said Galvin, who avenged a 7-6 (8), 6-1 defeat to Zhang in the backdraw of last year's state tournament. "Bill is a great player, so it was nice to get a chance to get back that loss I took at the tournament."

That was one of just a handful of defeats the overall tourney champs would absorb on Saturday, as Dan Brown's team beat Maine South 5-2 in its opener before rolling past Rolling Meadows 6-1 to send them into the final.

"It was a good day for us, especially at doubles where we have a brand new lineup after graduating most of our starters from a year ago," said Brown.

Among the key losses was Wesley Lo, who in four seasons with Brown qualified to the state tournament four times, each time with a different partner. Last year Lo and Daniel Delgrosso went 4-2 at state and were eliminated in the sixth round, in the consolation bracket.

Lo finished just behind former star Michael Tiu for most wins in his career, finishing with 132 (121 of them at doubles).

This season, Brown will lean on Zhang, a sophomore who recorded a dazzling 5-2 record in his first trip to state.

"It was a great experience, and one that I am anxious to get back to, with the hope of going further than I did last year," said Zhang. "My freshman year was an exciting one because I was part of a team that won the sectional title, while also becoming the first from Central to win a sectional singles championship. So there were a lot of good things to take from my first year here."

Naperville Central's new No. 1 at doubles, Kevin Yin/Riley Brooksher, scored a straight-set victory over St. Charles East's Connor Anderson/Alex Winters to give the Redhawks a 3-1 edge after their singles teammates went 3-0.

Anderson and Winters were paired together by coach Rob Livermore after the Saints' top team of Winters and George Spoerl were broken up by Spoerl's graduation.

"I think we have the potential to be a very good doubles team when the tournament comes around," said Winters, who went 2-2 with Spoerl at state. "Connor and I are very good for each other. We have the ability to calm the other down when we each need it, and his serve is the best part of his game."

Said Anderson, "We're similiar types of players, and we get along so well, which is maybe the most important thing to have when playing doubles."

Both agreed its hard not having their former teammate Jasper Koenen in the Saints' lineup, but both also feel strongly that freshman Kevin Schreiner is ready to assume the role of the team's new No. 1.

Koenen is a starter at doubles for Michigan State after four consecutive state tournament appearances.

Galvin led the tourney hosts to an overall third-place finish after a 4-3 victory over Palatine and Chon as Galvin (7-0) defeated his off-season hitting partner 6-2, 6-2.

"My serve felt good today, even though there was a hint of a strong wind at times," Galvin said. "All of that off-season work with my fitness and conditioning really made me feel stronger at the end of the day, and especially in my third match with David, who has gotten so much better over the past year."

Chon is dealing with a nagging shoulder and aching back, which takes some extra effort to settle down after long tournament days on the weekend.

"I've got tendinitis in my shoulder and some issues with the vertebrae, but everyone who plays a lot has some sort of stuff going on," said Chon. "So you learn to work with it and try to stay as healthy as you can."

The serve of the Pirates star appears to have much more pace than last season, as does his overall game, which should help him stay with the No. 1 foes he will regularly face this spring.

Although the overall results from both Lake Zurich and St. Viator did not match those others in this talented field here, Lake Zurich coach Aaron Rogers and St. Viator coach Alex Bocian still came away with plenty of positives when the day was done.

"This is one fantastic bunch that I have with me this year," said Rogers, who saw his team fall in its opener with St. Charles East before coming back to secure fifth place overall after defeating Maine South 5-2. "We're so young after losing most of our starting lineup from a year ago. Not only is this a great group, it's also one that is so tight and close, which makes coaching a joy each and every day."

Rogers believes the addition of former LZ standout and state qualifier Grant Thompson as an assistant will go a long way toward the development of the Bears' top two singles players, sophomore Roberto Guagnelli and senior Kevin Kim, who both went 2-0. And teammates Michael Madura and Steven Gore went 3-0 after splitting time at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles.

The Bears coach is still sorting things out at doubles, but he feels with all the terrific dynamics around the club, putting together a solid group should will come once the team has had more competition.

St. Viator suffered defeats against Rolling Meadows, Maine South and finally Fenwick, but Bocian sees a brighter day ahead for his group.

"I even have to remind myself that we are so incredibly young, from top to bottom, and even though days like this see us end on the downside of the final score, it's also days like this that give us the experience we need to get us going in the right direction," Bocian said. "We have one senior on this roster and a ton of guys who have to learn on the job right now. After we get ourselves back up to speed following our recent spring break, I believe we'll all see better results, and overall better play from each guy in our lineup."

Bocian says this upcoming week of perhaps 5-6 straight days will be the true test of his club, and one that will surely test their mettle. The Lions will host Glenbard East, Notre Dame and Niles North this week at Forest View Racquet Club.