Boys tennis: Stevenson outduels Barrington at sectional
It was an all Barrington-Stevenson finals, but it was Stevenson that achieved success when play came to an end Saturday afternoon at the Stevenson boys tennis sectional, played at the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex.
The reigning North Suburban Conference champions swept their longtime postseason rivals from Barrington at both flights, led by senior Eric Perkowski (13-3), who would defeat Broncos junior Pranav Gadiraju (17-5) in straight sets to capture the top spot at singles.
Ashvath Madhushankar (13-9) beat Fillies sophomore Devan Carse (11-3) in the third-place match to help the Patriots outscore Barrington 26-20.
"I feel like my game right now is much smoother and that I am playing simply smart tennis and that I might be the player who could come out and surprise the top seeds next week at state," said Perkowski, who as a freshman was state runner-up at doubles along with his then partner Prathinav Merneedi.
Perkowski, who will play next fall at Dayton where he will major in Mechanical Engineering, is now a three-time state qualifier.
"Pranav played a high level, but (Perkowski) was steady, and won a lot of the bigger points," offered Barrington coach John Roncone, who watched his No. 1 team, and top seed Ammar Wazer-Ethan Park (20-4) fall in straight sets to the Patriots' duo of Payton Adkisson-Daniel Tulchinsky (22-4) in the final to earn their second straight trip to state.
"Ammar and Ethan played well enough to beat most teams, but the Stevenson grit carried them through today, and we lacked the little bit of what we normally have," said Roncone.
"The guys played with a bit of a chip on their shoulder having lost to Ammar and Ethan earlier in the year. First serves were key and stepping up to win the important points also made a difference. If they continue to play with confidence and intensity, it could mean a long run at the tournament," said Patriots assistant coach Andrew Komarov, himself a state doubles champion with Colin Harvey in 2017.
Gabe Vistosky-Erwin Perkowski (19-8) from Stevenson, and Barrington's Gabe Mills-Vaarin Shroff (16-9) will both be making their first appearance at state.