No surprise: New Trier earns another trophy in boys tennis
In life there are few sure things. One seems to be New Trier winning a state trophy in boys tennis.
The Trevians finished second at the Class 2A state finals May 25-27, hosted by Palatine. It's New Trier's 46th trophy in boys tennis, its 17th second-place finish.
Coach Tad Eckert, in his 15th season not counting the 2020 COVID wipeout, has led his team to either first-, second- or third-place in all but one season.
Unfortunately for Trevian hopes, Hinsdale Central added to its state-high trophy take with its 28th title and 53rd trophy.
The Red Devils finished with 36 points, ahead of New Trier (30) and Fremd (29).
"We're a little disappointed that we didn't get first because that was our goal all season long. After the draw and the seeds came out we figured we were underdogs to Hinsdale Central," Eckert said.
"Actually, Fremd had a great tourney and we had to hold them off for second place. That turned into the real challenge on the last day of the tournament."
A key match toward that effort came in the doubles consolation semifinals. New Trier senior Oliver Coppieters (33-6) and junior Daniel Matten (31-4) defeated Hinsdale Central's James Theriault and Aidan Hernandez in a test of wills, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.
That guaranteed a 1-point Trevian lead over Fremd, even with Fremd's Andrew Spurck going on to win the 2A singles title.
"We were playing for second, but it's still a big trophy that we wanted," Eckert said.
Glenbrook North's Konrad Kwiatkowski, 6-1 during the tournament, placed fifth in singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Von Steuben's Garvin Murray.
"He had a great season," Eckert said of the Spartan player.
New Trier's Coppieters-Matten placed sixth in doubles. The top-seeded duo entering the weekend, sophomores Chris Ackerman (35-4) and Stan Okesson (32-9), finished second in doubles to Highland Park's Evan Glebov and Blake Gold.
The Trevians also earned 4 points from junior Caden Liu (27-8) and 6 points from senior Will Feeley (19-6) in singles.
Along with several of the above, New Trier will return Jovan Morales, who missed the state tournament with an injury. Eckert will graduate Coppieters, Feeley, and senior captains Alex Bengtsson and Sergio Romero.
Then he'll reload for 2024.
"We have a lot of guys on our roster that can play at the top-10 in state level, especially in doubles," Eckert said. "While they might be on our bench they're really good players, and we've got a lot of them."