Boys tennis: Barrington, Stevenson, Grayslake Central win conference tournaments
Barrington and Stevenson have once again won postseason titles.
The two longtime league powers of the Mid-Suburban League (MSL) and North Suburban Conference (NSC) added more hardware to their schools Saturday afternoon to continue their run of championship trophies.
Barrington would outscore its rivals Fremd and Hersey to win its second straight MSL title, and ninth of the last 10 seasons. They used a clean sweep of doubles to earn 55 points - seven more than second-place Fremd with MSL East champion Hersey rounding out the top three with 44 points at host Buffalo Grove.
Prospect was fourth with 31 points, Conant fifth at 29 points.
"Last year we were able to beat Fremd and Hersey in a close race to the top, then the three of us went on to finish 3-4-5 at state, so there's no doubt in my mind that all of us are going to be right there in the mix if we work hard and stay healthy," said Barrington coach John Roncone.
The Broncos would need three-set victories at both No. 1 and 2 doubles, and straight set wins at three and four, to close out Fremd, whom they beat earlier in this week to clinch the MSL West title.
"We knew it would be a tough match after needing three sets on Monday to win our match with them, but we have a lot of confidence in each other, and we played really well after that first set loss," said Gabe Mills, who a year ago was one win away from a state doubles medal along with his partner Ethan Paik.
"We were up 4-1 in our first set and let them back into the game. (But) Gabe kept me in the game, and really helped me get back to playing better the rest of the way," added Shiv Shastry, after their 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory moved their overall record to 17-2.
The No. 2 team of Nolan Pearson-Sahil Mittal (16-1) beat Luke Bouvier-Carson Koclanis (Hersey, 20-6) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in their final, while sophomores Aarav Nambiar-Avar Anand won their final at No. 3 doubles.
Over at singles, the No. 1 man in the state, Mitch Sheldon (13-0), was declared winner over Fremd junior Andrew Spurck (12-2) who was forced to default before their final when he fell ill during his semifinal win (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) over Barrington senior Deven Carse (16-2) who would later default his third place match to Victor Dorojan of Schaumburg.
"Andrew said if his match with Mitch was something that meant something of great importance, he would have gone on, and give it all he had. But it was better for him with sectionals and state coming up to default," said Fremd coach Johnny Kent.
The two singles stars could meet in the sectional final next weekend at Fremd.
Fremd sophomore Shashwat Srivasta (15-4) beat Barrington freshman Hadi Dossani (20-5) in his final at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-4, with another Vikings sophomore, Vedanth Srihari, going past Barrington's Jainik Shroff in his final at No. 3, 7-5, 6-3.
"We were very good at singles today. Andrew got a second straight win over Deven (Carse) while our guys at Nos. 2 and 3 singles came through with big victories," said Kent.
"We just couldn't get over the hill at doubles, where Barrington has come through with big wins the last couple of years here at this tournament. (But) we're all looking forward to sectionals, and hopefully another great run at state."
Barrington will be the favorite at the Cary-Grove sectional which begins Friday afternoon.
NORTH SUBURBAN CONFERENCE:
Stevenson was forced from rain soaked at the Lake Forest West campus where the singles field began early Saturday morning, but the trip over to the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex proved to be a thrilling one later on.
That's where the Patriots captured all four flights at doubles, plus two more at singles from Caden Zhao (No. 2, 13-3) and Nathan Ma (9-0) at No. 3, to outscore league rival Lake Forest to claim the NSC trophy for the 22nd time, and 31st in program history when combined with championships from their previous days in the NSC Lake division.
"So many terrific results from the boys today," coach Izzy Balase said. "Our No. 2 guys at doubles (Alex Jang-Dustin Zhao, 11-1) have really come together of late. They're playing with confidence and look really comfortable with each other heading into sectionals.
"(And) the same goes for Caden at No. 2. He has a hot hand right now, and his confidence is right up there as well."
The Pats' No. 1 team of Ervin Perkowski-Gautham Kappaganthula (10-3), both of whom were state doubles qualifiers a year ago with different partners, recorded a victory over the team of Josh Dobrin-Jack Gerber of Libertyville.
"We're just back to both of us being 100% healthy, so we feel like we have a great chance from here on out," said Kappaganthula, who will attend CalTech in the fall, where he will major in electrical engineering.
"Doubles is wide open on the state level, and you saw Lyons Township, who came in as the 9-16 seed at the Pitchford and made it to the finals, so that has really motivated both of us," added Kappaganthula, who went into the consolation quarterfinals last spring with partner Gabriel Visotsky.
"We missed playing together for nearly three weeks, but we're fit and ready to go, and it started today. We'll look to continue next weekend at sectionals," said Perkowski, who will continue to play next fall at Rose-Hulman in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he will major in computer science.
Perkowski, a two-time state qualifier, advanced into the consolation quarterfinals in 2021 with the aforementioned Visotsky.
The Patriots will host at the VHAC seven other teams in sectional action, including league rivals: Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Mundelein and Warren.
NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY CONFERENCE:
The NLCC was able to beat the weather as it played its entire tournament one day earlier on Friday at host Lakes Community High School.
That's where Grayslake Central would fight off a strong challenge from Wauconda to lift the league trophy for the second consecutive season over Ben Volheim's club from Wauconda, who were crowned league champions one week earlier when they beat Central 5-2 on the final day of the regular season in league play.
"We knew it would be a challenge to get first place at the (tournament). We needed a few things to break our way, but unfortunately they did not go our way," said Volheim.
"(Regardless) of the outcome, I am extremely proud of this team, and our seniors," continued Volheim, who lost 8 seniors from a year ago, but now has the dynamic sophomore duo of Sean Lenhart (16-2) and Marshawn Gallego (18-1) to lead the way.
"Our two guys at singles are one of the best 1-2 players at 1A singles combos in the state, and they continue to showcase (that) day in and day out, and each has positioned themselves very well for some high seeds in the sectional tournament," opined Volheim, who will be right back here in Lake Villa for its 1A sectional along with host Lakes as well as Grayslake Central and North.
"This group of guys we have really stepped up to defend our regular season championship, and that was no small feat," said a proud Volheim.
Last season at sectionals, Wauconda and FVC champion Prairie Ridge would share the team title with 20 points each, with the Bulldogs sending its-then senior doubles team of Dylan Brannick-Memphis Gallego to state, in addition to Dylan Clausen (Grayslake North) and Gavin Murrie (Lakes) advancing at singles.
Both Clausen and Murrie went deep into the second day of play at state before they were eliminated.