2024 Northwest Herald boys tennis season preview capsules – Northwest Herald

Fox Valley Conference

Cary-Grove

Coach: Amanda Schuetzle (14th season)

Last year’s finish: Fifth at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Nate Deal, sr.; Ryan Dixon, jr.; Noah Marrano, sr.; Derek Passaglia, sr.; Chris Ptaszek, so.; Bryce Shechtman, jr.; Nick Veach, sr.

Key newcomers: Jack Karlovsky, jr.; Lincoln Karlovsky, jr.; Owen Lonergan, fr.; Leo Petropoulos, jr.

Worth noting: The Trojans have a lot of their top players returning. Shechtman moved into the No. 1 singles spot about halfway through last year and advanced to the state tournament, going 0-2. Noah Marrano and Deal will play together at No. 1 doubles. … Schuetzle said the team is looking for a higher place in conference. … “With a team of seven returning starters, we are definitely looking to be stronger and more confident on the court this year,” Schuetzle said. “Our new players are eager to prove themselves with some getting in the lineup and will need to step up and fill our open spots with the same intensity as our returners to help us try to raise the bar of our FVC finish from last year.”

Crystal Lake Central

Coach: Cory Osterberg (ninth season)

Last year’s finish: Tied for third at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Brandon Oconer, sr.; Oliver True, sr.; Connor Wheeland, sr.; Parker Tapp, sr.; Avnish Khandeshi, sr.; Eli Irwin, jr.; Audon Berg, jr.; Conor Naughton, jr.; Ryan Spencer, so.; Jack Lisle, so.

Key newcomers: Aidan Johnson, sr.; Tanner Hutchins, jr.; Luke Polston, jr.; Nate Muszynski, fr.

Worth noting: Wheeland will move into the No. 1 singles spot for the Tigers, previously held by Logan Wasilk for the past four seasons. Wasilk had the best state-tournament record of any local player last season, going 3-2 in Class 1A. He took third at the FVC Tournament at No. 1 singles. … OConer made it to state at doubles with Kento Ono and finished 1-2. … Berg and Spencer won the No. 3 doubles title at the FVC Tournament. … “I love our team chemistry, we have a lot of experience returning,” Osterberg said. “A lot of guys have played all year long, and I have noticed solid improvements in many of their games. I am hoping that trend continues and we have a solid showing in the FVC.”

Crystal Lake South

Coach: Mark Scheurich (first season)

Last year’s finish: Tied for seventh at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Jack Dacy, sr.; Eryk Bucior, so.; Zeke Boldman, so.; AJ Smith, sr.

Key newcomers: Jake Pasek, fr.; Bayel Muktar, so.

Worth noting: Scheurich enters his first year at South after 13 years at Jacobs with the JV boys team … The Gators have one of their bigger teams in recent seasons with 23 players in the program. Scheurich said assistant Aleksandra Ivanisevic, a teacher at South, helped recruit many new players. … Dacy and Aaron Kohn advanced to the Class 1A state tournament and were 0-2. Bucior, who played No. 1 singles last spring, will join Dacy at the top doubles position. Boldman moves into the No. 1 singles spot after playing No. 2 last year. … “I’d love to eventually build the program into something similar to what [Jon] Betts has established at Jacobs and Amanda Schuetzle at Cary-Grove: a large total number of athletes on the team who consistently are competing in the upper half of the FVC,” Scheurich said.

Dundee-Crown

Coach: Yuto Tsukida (fifth season)

Last year’s finish: Ninth at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Braeden Jones, sr.; Nick Miller, sr.; Ben Riggio, sr.; Casey McKinney, jr.; Cavan Svec, so.; Pranav Saravanan, so.

Key newcomers: Aarav Shah, fr.; Sebastian Llavona, fr.

Worth noting: Shah will be one of the top singles players in the FVC, even as a freshman. … Miller and Ben Riggio came within a win of advancing to the Class 2A state tournament for the Chargers last year. … “Aarav Shah is my newcomer that comes with a lot of talent,” Tsukida said. “There will be tough opponents, but I believe he can put himself out there and catch a lot of eyes. … Our team is very motivated this year. They feel confident with their improvements. I’m excited to see how they match up with everyone.”

Hampshire

Coach: Dylan Clark (sixth season)

Last year’s finish: Sixth at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Braden Koffen, jr.; Caed Steuber, sr.. Ryan Regalado, sr.; Nicky Adam, sr.; Phoenix Phelps, sr.; Jake Notter, jr.

Key newcomers: Chris Roth, jr.

Worth noting: The Whip-Purs return six seniors in the starting lineup. … Koffen advanced to the Class 2A state tournament last season, going 0-2. … Clark said Roth was the most improved player during the offseason. He’ll likely play in the No. 3 singles spot. Koffen and Steuber will battle for No. 1 singles… Breaking into the top four of the FVC is a team goal this year, Clark said. … “Our biggest strength for the season is our depth and athleticism,” Clark said. “A lot of our guys have been super devoted to growing into the positions they are playing this year, so it will be a blast to watch them perform.”

Huntley

Coach: Kris Grabner (first season)

Last year’s finish: Tied for third at FVC Tournament

Top returner: Will Geske, so.

Key newcomers: Tanush Gulati, fr.; Vivek Yandamuri, fr.; Rithwik Depala, fr.

Worth noting: Grabner takes over for Barry Wells, who led the Red Raiders for 18 seasons. … Huntley won the Class 2A Harlem Sectional championship last year. Geske finished his freshman season 25-3 and was the FVC No. 1 singles champion (first in Huntley history), beating Prairie Ridge’s Jacob Kim 7-6, 6-4. Geske won a sectional title and was 2-2 at the state tournament. … Huntley’s No. 1 doubles team of Ben Hein and Jonathan Stec graduated. … “We are a very young team,” Grabner said. “I’m very excited about the team’s potential.”

Jacobs

Coach: Jon Betts (19th season)

Last year’s finish: Second at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Austin Dinh, sr.; Liam Hulewicz, sr.; Sam Penna, sr.; Augie Nelson, jr.; Ryan Fulton, jr.; Rudra Rathod, jr.; Soham Kalra, so.

Key newcomers: Nick Haasser, sr.; Brennen Miller, jr.; Ronnav Deshmukh, fr.; Jack Soto, fr.

Worth noting: The Golden Eagles tied C-G for second at the Class 2A Cary-Grove Sectional. … Nelson and Kalra earned All-Area first-team honors and advanced to the Class 2A state tournament, going 1-2. … Hulewicz was a part of Jacobs No. 2 doubles championship at the FVC Tournament. Fulton took runner-up at No. 2 singles. … Dinh will compete at No. 1 singles. … “We have a great deal of last year’s starting lineup returning this season,” Betts said. “Our team’s greatest strength is that it is made up of hard-working, kind young men who care about and support one another. The biggest compliment I can give is that this is a group that is genuinely fun to be around. We’re excited to compete for each other every day.”

McHenry

Coach: Kyle Funkhouser (19th season)

Last year’s finish: Tied for seventh at FVC Tournament

Top returners: Nate Neufeld, sr.; Mohsin Rizvi, jr.; Nick Marchant, so.; Owen Miller, so.; Alex Rudzki, so.; Brayden Gardon, so.

Key newcomers: Lachlan Gardon, jr.; Ivan Petkov, fr.; Will Lard, jr.

Worth noting: Neufeld and Rizvi will battle for the No. 1 singles spot for the Warriors. Neufeld was a part of McHenry’s No. 1 doubles team last season with Giacomo Romano. … “We have a handful of returning players that also got some varsity experience last season,” Funkhouser said. “I am enjoying watching them work hard each day as they compete for the remaining spots in the varsity lineup.”

Prairie Ridge

Coach: Willy Stastny (sixth season)

Last year’s finish: FVC Tournament champion

Top returners: Jacob Kim, jr.; Cole Palese, jr.; Tim Jones, so.; Eli Loeding, so.; Evan Seegert, so.; Mason Bartmess, jr.; Jack Widger, jr.; Logan Riter, jr.

Key newcomers: Rory Senese, fr.; Jack Instefjord, jr.; Kellan Jarvis, jr.

Worth noting: The Wolves won the FVC Tournament for the first time since 2015. The team has no seniors this year. … Kim, the FVC Tournament No. 1 singles runner-up, advanced to the Class 1A state tournament and was 2-2. Palese and Jaylan Tucker, who were sectional champions, went 1-2 at state. Kim and Palese were All-Area first-team selections. … Prairie Ridge had three FVC Tournament champions: Palese and Tucker (No. 1 doubles), Nolan Frey (No. 2 singles) and Loeding and Seegert (No. 4 doubles). … Jones will join Palese at No. 1 doubles. … “We have most of our lineup returning from last year, but the seniors we did lose were part of the sectional lineup,” Stastny said. “I’m excited to see who takes the opportunity to step up and fill in those top spots. Our biggest strength might also be our biggest weakness: we are a relatively young team with no seniors.”

Kishwaukee River Conference

Marengo

Coach: Erika Kane (eighth season)

Last year’s finish: Fifth at KRC Tournament

Top returners: Wyatt Lundgren, sr.; Leo Bankel, sr.

Worth noting: The Indians return their top two starters in Lundgren and Bankel. … “We’re looking forward to watching this team grow closer and have a fun season,” Kane said. “Our team is very supportive and helps build each other up.”

Woodstock

Coach: Jake Porter (12th season)

Last year’s finish: KRC Tournament champion

Top returners: Marc Cheng, so.; Brett Neuhart, jr.; Liam Hanson, sr.

Key newcomers: Ben Vanderville, so.

Worth noting: The Blue Streaks dominated the KRC Tournament last season, winning titles at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 doubles and Nos. 2 and 3 singles. … Cheng took second at the Class 2A Belvidere North Sectional, but did not participate at state because of injury. … Hanson was a part of the Blues’ Streaks doubles team that was runner-up at sectionals. Hanson and Vince Perez went on to go 0-2 at state. … “We have high expectations in 2024,” Porter said. “Nine of our eleven starters are returning from a conference championship and sectional runner-up. We have goals of winning the KRC and sectionals this year, along with getting four or more players to qualify for the state tournament.”

Woodstock North

Coach: Bart Zadlo (seventh season)

Last year’s finish: Second at KRC Tournament

Top returners: Ben Lagerhausen, sr.

Key newcomers: Jude Suay, so.; Alex Flores, jr; Zechariah Vasquez, sr.

Worth noting: The Thunder return only one varsity starter from last season in Lagerhausen, but had a strong showing at tryouts with 15 freshmen coming out. … “We have several guys filling roles on varsity for the first time and a few newcomers that we are excited to have in the program,” Zadlo said. “We are excited about their athleticism and how quickly they are picking up the game. We hope the numbers continue to grow in our program.”

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Marian Central

Coach: Gina Jasovic (first season)

Top returner: Cameron Tiemann, so.

Key newcomers: Finn Peter, so.; Thomas Kumm, jr.; Alex Odahowski, sr.

Worth noting: Jasovic has over 10 years of high school coaching experience, previously coaching the girls at Prairie Ridge and boys at Marian Central. … The Hurricanes will look to rebuild after suffering big losses to graduation. … Tiemann will step into Marian’s No. 1 singles spot. … “We lost a lot of seniors last year, and this year will definitely be a building year for the Marian boys program,” Jasovic said. “However, we have a great group of boys who are eager to start competing. We are looking forward to a great season.”