Miguel Perez said he has only one goal left in high school — win a tennis state championship with doubles partner David Zakhodin.
The Glenbrook North seniors didn’t drop a set during the Deerfield Sectional on their way to first place. They earned the top seed for this week’s state meet, which runs Thursday, May 28, through Saturday, May 30, at courts in the northwest suburbs.
Last season, Perez and Zakhodin reached the quarterfinals before suffering their first loss. They then lost in the consolation semifinals. As sophomores, they made it to the sixth round of the consolation bracket after not qualifying as freshmen.
“In past years, the goal was to go deep and get to the quarters or the semis,” said Perez, who plans to play tennis at Wisconsin-Whitewater. “This year, it’s to win the state championship. That’s all.”
Perez and Zakhodin beat Deerfield juniors Chris Casati and Niko Wasilewicz 6-1, 6-1 in the sectional final on Saturday, May 23, to capture their third consecutive sectional championship. Perez and Zakhodin lost only eight games over four matches.
The top four singles players and top four doubles team all earned berths in the state tournament.
More Top Picks Best Reading Pens For Dyslexia
In addition to winning the sectional, the pair won Hersey’s Pitchford Invitational, considered by many coaches to be an in-season state tournament.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Perez said of his four-year playing career with Zakhodin, who plans to play at Case Western Reserve (Ohio). “We started as underdogs, made a name for ourselves and now we are the big guys at tournaments. It’s been a huge change throughout the years.”
Glenbrook North sophomore Mark Wu won the sectional title in singles to help carry the Spartans to the team trophy with 28 points. Highland Park was a close second with 23 points.
Glenbrook South
Larry Faulkner has seen a lot of tennis during his four decades as Glenbrook South’s coach, and he said only one other sectional compared to this year’s at Deerfield in terms of competitiveness.
As Deerfield coach Josh Leighton and Highland Park coach Steve Rudman said they expected, many of the state’s top seeds in both singles and doubles came from Deerfield’s sectional. In singles, Highland Park sophomore Jacob Edelchik is a 5-8 seed and Wu is a 9-16 seed. Besides top-seeded Perez and Zakhodin, Casati and Wasilewicz received a 3-4 seed.
“There was one in the late 1970s that was worse,” said Faulkner, the school’s boys coach since 1976. “I think Deerfield, Highland Park, New Trier, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South and Lake Forest were all at that one.”
That’s why Faulkner was happy to at least see his doubles team of senior Gavin McClanahan and sophomore Bryce McClanahan survive and advance to the state tournament. The brothers finished fourth at Deerfield.
“This sectional was loaded with so many talented players,” Faulkner said. “I feel bad for a lot of the ones who didn’t make it through. There were so many great teams here. It’s a shame.”
Twitter: @harnesspreps