Boys tennis: Stevenson finishes strong, ties for second
Stevenson's drive toward a boys tennis state title ran out of gas Saturday afternoon when Hinsdale Central's Zack Elliot and his doubles teammates Trevor Hamilton/Andrew Buhelos helped the Red Devils accelerate past the competition to the team championship at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
Elliot captured the singles crown, and Hamilton/Buehlos stopped the Patriots' freshman sensation of Sai Merneedi/Eric Perkowski in straight sets on their way to the doubles title.
Hinsdale Central finished with 44 points, and Stevenson and New Trier tied for second at 33.
"It was three days of tennis in which we overachieved at every turn, receiving tremendous efforts from each and every one of our guys. They responded to us asking them all to finish one spot over the seed they received - and they all did," said Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope.
The second-place trophy the Patriots earned was the program's first since 2013, again in a tie for second.
Prior to that season, the Patriots enjoyed back-to-back second place finishes, one of them coming in 2008 when the freshman doubles team of Ross Putterman/David Packowitz were runners-up to Highland Park seniors Ben Woldenberg/Sam Barnett.
By the way, three years after their loss to Highland Park, Putterman/Packowitz won themselves a state championship.
In the sweltering heat Saturday, Merneedi/Perkowski (24-2) fell in straight sets to seniors Hamilton/Buehlos (26-2).
"What a state tournament those two freshmen had," said Stanhope. "As the 5-8 seed, they beat one state seed after another, including the No. 2 (New Trier) in the quarters, and today the No. 3-4 Hinsdale Central in the semifinals to get themselves a spot in the finals."
Hamilton/Buehlos, state runners-up last year and the recent Pitchford 32 champs, flexed their muscles in a 6-1 first set victory.
The young Patriots showed their mettle by going up 3-1, then 4-3, before the Red Devils took command.
"The guys were missing shots they hadn't up until the final, and they struggled to get (Central) off the net, which helped them exploit our weaknesses," Stanhope said. "But the boys played so well, as did Zach (Kim), who had a great tournament during his first two days where he alone earned 10 points, including big wins over top seed Jack Randall, and last year's third place state medal-winner, Ryan Roegner."
Kim (25-3) succumbed to bouts of leg cramps, the most severe comng in his quarterfinal against Dominick Cuchran (Lyons Township), who later fell in the final.
"Zach had a great first set against Dominick, he was hitting every shot, and almost making it way too easy," said Lyons Township coach Dave Robere, himself a state champion in 2007 at doubles with John Smits. "So we had to make an adjustment, taking Dominick from behind the line and moving him up while playing to Zach's backhand as much as we could. That helped take (Kim) out of his rhythm and allowed Dominick to pressure more and dictate play."
"Dominick played well," said Kim, "but I started to feel my legs cramping up. I tried to play through it and just gut it out, but it wasn't enough.
"It was still a great tournament for me and our team, and it's one that I can build from for next season."
Senior Sam Komis (24-3) saw his superb career come to an end in the backdraw following a straight defeat to eventual fifth-place medal winner Anthony Nguyen of Waubonsie Valley.
"I had my chances against Nguyen (31-6) and it would have been nice to finish, but it wasn't to be," said Komis, who will continue to play in college when he attends Washington University in St. Louis. "I had a lot of great memories during my four years at Stevenson, with each year better than the last."
Komis' final words describe what Wauconda senior Brian Hackman enjoyed during his run with the Bulldogs, which ended one victory short of the first state medal in history for the boys program.
Hackman (24-2) rebounded in fine style following a disappointing three-set loss in the quarterfinals to Andy Graf (Mascoutah) with an impressive straight set victory over Alex Bergendorf (Glenbard South) in Rolling Meadows to stay alive in the Class 1A state medal chase.
One match later, the three-time state qualifier fell 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 to Michael Rooney (Nazareth Academy) .
Hackman, who will play next season at Hillsdale College (Mich.) was a two-time sectional and conference champion who won 31 times a year ago on his way to a top-eight finish.
During his last three seasons, Hackman collected 88 victories while earning a 3-4 seed in this tournament.
In the Class 1A team race, Chicago University and Normal University shared top team honors with 28 points, 1 more than the Latin School of Chicago. Wheaton Academy was third with 24 points, with Chicago Northside (19 points) rounding out the top five.