Pioneer Press breaks down the Libertyville, Buffalo Grove, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield and Stevenson boys tennis teams.
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Lake Forest
Five area boys tennis teams — Lake Forest, Stevenson, Highland Park, Libertyville and Deerfield — finished in the top 10 at the state meet in 2014. With many players returning this spring, 2015 is shaping up to be another strong season.
Lake Forest brings back senior Brice Polender, who finished third at the state singles meet a year ago. In February, Polender committed to Richmond University in Virginia. He begins high school play in the spring after busy tournament season.
“I played a lot of USTA tournaments,” Polender said.
A ground-stroke specialist, Polender said he’s worked extensively on his serve-and-volley game since last season.
“I spent a lot of time on my net game, moving up and closing out points at the net,” he said.
Polender takes over at No. 1 singles after the graduation of Peter Tarwid. The state-qualifying doubles team of seniors Greg Frauenheim and Jordon O’Kelly is also back. Seniors Ben Kasbeer and Parker Marsh will vie for one of the top singles spots.
Stevenson
The good news for the Patriots — they return two Harveys in 2015. Senior Colin Harvey, one half of a 2014 state championship doubles team (with the graduated Andrew Komarov) is back along with sophomore Matt Harvey.
Coach Tom Stanhope hinted he might play Colin Harvey at singles and doubles during 2015.
“He’s worked really hard at his game in [singles and doubles],” Stanhope said. “Gearing up for one last season.”
This should be a deep team. Senior Adam Maryniuk and junior Ben Bush were both in the 2014 state lineup. Senior Josh Cheng and freshman Sam Komis will also see playing time.
“We have one of the hardest schedules in the state in an attempt to be playing our best tennis at the end of the season,” Stanhope said. “We have three goals — win conference, qualify the entire team for state and win state. Those goals haven’t changed.”
Highland Park
Highland Park coach Steve Rudman is an enviable position in 2015.
“We have our whole team intact,” Rudman said.
And it’s a loaded team. Highland Park qualified two singles and two doubles teams for the 2014 state meet, and five of the six players are back this spring.
Top singles players Jacob Edelchik (sophomore) and Nick Zazove (junior) are stronger after an active tournament season. The state doubles team of Max Gordon (senior) and David Aizenberg (junior) also played midwestern tournaments.
Senior Dean Sheftel and sophomores Brandon Lew and Jonny Raab will see playing time in singles and doubles. Senior Teddy Dunn, a state qualifier last year in doubles, will miss the first part of the season after knee surgery.
“We have enough bodies and kids that are excited,” Rudman said. “I don’t think I’ve had a group of kids that are this dedicated to playing at the high-level tournament scene and looking to get better. Depending on how the sectional shakes out, we can make some noise this year.”
Deerfield
The Warriors graduated five seniors from 2014, but only one — singles player Tim Klabjan — was in the Central Suburban League tournament lineup. Deerfield returns state singles qualifier Noah Rosenblat (senior) and the state doubles team of juniors Chris Casati and Niko Wasilewicz.
Rosenblat is a Colgate recruit, and coach Josh Leighton said Rosenblat can best 2014’s round of 16 state finish.
“He’s competing better than last year. He has the ability to play from the baseline and net, which gives him the ability to change his game depending on the opponent,” Leighton said.
Casati and Wasilewicz were state quarterfinal finishers in 2014.
“They played their best tennis at the end of last season and are hoping for the same this year,” Leighton said.
Libertyville
The North Suburban Lake should be one of the area’s strongest in boys tennis. No team has two better singles players than Libertyville.
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Returning in 2015 are Wildcats senior Ben VanDixhorn and sophomore Stefano Tsorotiotis. Van Dixhorn is a defending sectional champion who made it into the quarterfinal round of the state tournament in 2014. As a freshman, Tsorotiotis finished in fourth place.
Tsorotiotis is back after spending the fall semester at a tennis academy in South Carolina.
“We are both so similar and we can challenge each other every day. It makes practices so competitive,” Van Dixhorn said of playing with Tsorotiotis.
Van Dixhorn, a Northwestern commit, put on 15 pounds of muscle since last season and is now a sturdy 6-foot-2, 165 pounds. The left-handed player said the extra strength and experience has boosted his game.
“I’ve gotten stronger physically and mentally. I’ve played a lot more matches and it helps with mental toughness,” VanDixhorn said. “My serve has improved, and so have my volleys.”
Coach Dan Kiernan has not decided on who will play No. 1 or No. 2 singles. A season ago, VanDixhorn was the team’s top singles player while Tsorotiotis was No. 2.
Don’t expect any change with Libertyville’s No. 1 doubles team. Juniors Julian Janczak and Scott Daluga should retain the top spot they held in 2014.
State third-place winner Brice Polender of Lake Forest and Stevenson’s Colin Harvey, who won the state doubles title in 2014 with partner Andrew Komarov, are both expected to play singles in 2015. VanDixhorn said the level of competitiveness in the conference has him excited to start the season.
“Brice and I have had some great matches. It will be fun this year,” VanDixhorn said.
Buffalo Grove
Buffalo Grove returns three varsity players from its 2014 team. One of them is senior Anton Levitin, one half of a state round of 16 doubles team (Peter Georgiades was the other player).
Coach Michael Naughton said Levitin will play singles in Mid-Suburban League matches this season.
“[Levitin] has been working on his leadership skills and set a good example for our young team,” Naughton said.
The two other returning varsity players for the Bison are seniors Cameron Davidson and Allan Drapatsky. The rest of Buffalo Grove’s roster will be filled with newcomers.
“We are young, but we will be hungry to compete and grind for every point,” Naughton said. “Our goal is to always be in the hunt to win the [MSL East] and the conference tournament, then get multiple state qualifiers out of a competitive and tough sectional.
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.