Boys tennis: Glenbard West ready to host 38th annual Hilltopper Invitational
The Glenbard West boys tennis team is pointing toward a memorable showing this week.
The Hilltoppers, who have 16 players on their varsity roster, are relying on senior leadership and depth to carry them to a successful season. The Hilltoppers placed third at the Hersey Invite, and will host the 38th Annual Hilltopper Invite on Saturday.
"So far, I'm really pleased with the start of the season," Glenbard West coach Tad Keely said. "This year we have a decent amount of depth in the bottom of our lineup. Our senior leadership has been great with those members who have been part of the program over the last four years.
"Playing in one of the toughest conferences in the state, I'm hopeful that we will be able to finish in the top half by the end of the year."
At No. 1 singles, Sully Monteith (4-0) is undefeated on the season after finishing in sixth place last season in the Class 2A state doubles with former teammate Andrew Immink, a current freshman tennis player at Fairfield University.
"Sully is a remarkable athlete and has really focused on the mental aspects of the game entering his senior season," Keely said. "It will be nice to see him make the transition back to singles for his senior year. In doubles, I'm really looking forward to seeing the maturation of senior JT Gialluisi and junior George Bender. They qualified for state last year and are primed to have a great season this year. They played some stiff competition this past weekend and with some more fine tuning in practice, I believe that they could have a great year."
Benet remains undefeated:
Rain has been an issue throughout Chicagoland this spring, but the early spring forecast for Benet's tennis team is sunny. The Redwings opened the season with four straight victories.
"So far we haven't gotten to the meat of the schedule, but we won a tough match with Wheaton North last week to go with a good win by our number one doubles team in a third-set tiebreaker," Benet coach Michael Hand said. "These matches have given our freshmen a chance to get their feet wet and get used to the grind of the season."
Benet freshmen Zach Bobofchak is one of the promising underclassmen in Benet's program, according to Hand. The Redwings hit a difficult stretch over the next three weeks, playing Barrington, Deerfield, New Trier and Naperville Central.
"Zach Bobofchak has been one of the freshmen to step up into the high school scene," Hand said. "He's currently playing number one singles. He's learning a bit about himself and the need to stay patient. Senior John Yahiro and freshman Patrick Burke have been holding down number one doubles with a 3-0 record. They've developed a good chemistry together in the short time as partners, while senior Noah Bobofchak has been a jack of all trades, playing a bit of both singles (2-0) and doubles (2-0). Noah will probably settle into doubles when his partner returns from a knee issue."
Downers Grove South update:
Four matches into the season, Downers Grove South has pulled to an even record. The Mustangs have defeated local rival Downers Grove North and University High, with losses to Triad and Chaminade Prep School.
"We beat crosstown rival Downers Grove North last week, but the match was tightly contested and came down to a super-tiebreaker at the second doubles position that we won 10-8," Downers Grove South coach Josh Frost said. "Our top singles player Sam Plys is 4-0 in singles on the year as only a sophomore. Coming off a season where he was a set away from qualifying for the state meet in one of the toughest sectionals in the state, Sam is looking to take the next step this season. We have a young number one doubles team of sophomore Paul Spang and junior Sameer Singh. They're currently 2-0 playing together on the season and looking to take the next step as well."
Frost said the Mustangs hope to take a big step this week with the start of West Suburban Conference play.
"We're definitely gearing up to contend at the Glenbard West Hilltopper Invite this Saturday against many great teams in the DuPage County area," Frost said. "Outside of that, dual matches next week against York, Willowbrook and Hinsdale South in the following week will all be good tests for the team."