Boys tennis: Hersey's Sheldon will play for state singles title
A simply stunning display of tennis on the second day of the Class 2A boys state tennis tournament from Max Sheldon has the Hersey sophomore in the state final Saturday before his home crowd.
Sheldon (35-2) delivered a first-class effort in his quarterfinal to defeat 3-4 seed Max Bengtsson of New Trier (18-1) in three sets, then saved his best for Highland Park's Jeremy Learner (23-2) to send off the No. 2 seed in just over an hour to reach the championship match.
The two-time Mid-Suburan League champion will meet 3-4 seed Robert Daniel Schmelka (17-4) of Hinsdale Central at the Pitchford Tennis Complex in Arlington Heights at 9 a.m., weather permitting.
"It's kind of hard to believe that last year I went 1-2 and barely got out of the second round," admitted Sheldon, who could become the first Huskie state champion since Brad Rosenbaum in 1988.
"I dedicated myself to getting bigger, better and stronger and to do whatever it took to improve my fitness level and I really believe that, especially, had made a big difference in my game this year."
"That and the fact that Max is mentally so strong and so focused, to go along with having so much more confidence in himself and his arsenal of weapons," added Huskies' head coach Andy Walton.
Sheldon, like every other player in the tournament, would endure close to a two-hour weather delay following an early morning storm that roared through the area Friday.
After officials and volunteers alike roll-dried the courts at several of the venues in use, Sheldon would step onto his home courts to face Bengtsson down a set, but nearly even in the second set.
"Max played a great first set, but so did Bengtsson and in my opinion, except for a few missed shots here and there (Sheldon) could have easily taken the first set," said Walton.
Sheldon never looked back after drawing back even with Bengtsson, turning up the pressure on the New Trier star in a 6-0 third-set victory.
A nervy first set with Learner ended in favor of the Huskies' sophomore then once again his pace, ball striking, movement and ease in which he finished off points would do in the Highland Park senior.
"When you're playing in USTA tournaments it's usually just your parents there to cheer you on," said Sheldon. "But today, all of my teammates, students from school who came out during gym class, were all there to support me and it felt great to have that there for me and I know that helped me in both of my matches today."
Schmelka and his teammates have a commanding 12-point lead over second place rivals Stevenson and New Trier (40-28) with Lyons Township (19) and Naperville Central (18) rounding out the top five of the team leaderboard.
Hersey is seventh overall (14) along with Edwardsville, while Barrington (10), Conant and Fremd are tied for 15th, each with 9 points.
Consolation play is set to start at 8 a.m. at various locations around host Hersey, weather permitting.