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sports
Brice is right
THe North shore weekend
6/07 – 6/08/14
Lake Forest upstart Polender peaks at the perfect time, takes third at state ■ by bill mclean
sports@northshoreweekend.com Brice Polender was 3 when his father, Russ, first fed him tennis ball after tennis ball on a court. At last weekend’s boys state tennis tournament at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Polender — now a junior at Lake Forest High School — gave hungry tennis fans what they craved: superb, fearless shot making. A racket-less Russ Polender stood outside the courts as a proud spectator. He serves as the Director of Racquet Sports at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka. “My dad has always been a real positive tennis instructor,” said Brice. “He’s taught me a lot.” A 9-16 seed in singles, Polender was the talk of the tourney after drilling five foes in straight sets to earn a semifinal berth on May 31. The Scouts’ No. 2 singles player ended up third at state after Libertyville High School freshman and 5-8 seed Stefano Tsorotiotis retired with an injury after trailing 1-0 in the match for third place. “Brice has as mechanically sound of a tennis game as you’re going to see out here,” Scouts assistant coach Scot Gilbert said courtside on May 31. “His shots are heavy — hard and heavy. He’s locked in, very focused, really into tennis. “Brice,” he added, “will be a very good college tennis player.” Polender overwhelmed 5-8 seed Will Koehrsen of Metamora High School 6-3, 6-0 in a Round of 16 match on May 30 and later beat 3-4 seed Ben VanDixhorn of Libertyville 6-2, 6-4 in a state quarterfinal. VanDixhorn, a junior and Northwestern University recruit, had defeated Polender 7-5, 6-3 in a third-round match at state last spring. Polender’s only blemish last weekend was a 6-1, 6-3 semifinal loss to reigning state singles champion Martin Joyce of Hinsdale Central. “Joyce,” Polender said, “played rock-solid.” So did Lake Forest High School’s entire squad, which placed runner-up (41 points) to Hinsdale Central (56) and captured the program’s third straight state trophy. Scouts senior and second-seeded Peter Tarwid capped his fine prep career by topping Downers Grove South’s Tony Leto 6-3, 7-5 in the match for fifth place on May 31. Tarwid had finished sixth at each of the past two state meets. The Brown University recruit and fourtime state singles qualifier went an impressive 24-7 at state meets. LFHS seniors Scott Christian and Connor O’Kelly contributed 12 team points with their sixth-place showing in doubles. Last spring Christian paired up with John Zordani (LFHS, ’13) to take fifth at state in doubles. Reigning Warren Sectional doubles champions Greg Frauenheim and Jordon O’Kelly won four of six matches at state last weekend. “They all bought into the team concept,” Scouts coach Corky Leighton said after his club clinched the 11th state trophy in program history. “They cheered for each other all season. They gave each other tips. They bonded. “I loved it.” New Trier Team Makeshift — aka New Trier’s boys tennis team — made major waves at last weekend’s state meet, netting another state trophy with its third-place showing (34 points).
‘Three’ feat: Brice Polender of the Scouts, seen here in earlier action, took third at the state tournament. photography
Senior and two-time state singles qualifier Alex Galoustian looked mighty comfortable in doubles matches with junior partner Corey Schwartz. The pair of lefties took third as a 5-8 seed. NT sophomore twins Scott and Tom Bickel, meanwhile, combined for nine wins in singles — a year after winning four doubles matches together at state. “I’m sure guys on the team think I’m a mad scientist when it comes to making our lineup,” Trevians coach Tad Eckert said. “But there’s method to my madness. A lot went into the equation before I picked our sectional lineup. Navigating our sectional … you need four bullets [the maximum four state-qualifying entrants] if you want to have any chance at getting a state trophy.” The NT tandem of junior Thomas Hanley/ sophomore Wyatt Mayer (4-2 at state) also advanced to state from the New Trier Sectional on May 24. Schwartz and the DePaul-bound Galoustian, nursing an ailing back, thumped fourth-seeded Jack Desse/Logan Ware of Edwardsville High School 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. The win was worth four points — double the value of other victories in the main draw. “That win put us in the position we needed to lock up a team trophy,” Eckert said before Galoustian/Schwartz beat Hinsdale Central’s Michael Czlonka/James Bruning 6-4, 6-2 in the match for third place. “It’s a great story, those two playing together. They came in so untested. But we knew they had a lot of potential.” As soon as he found out he’d get to battle with Galoustian in the postseason, Schwartz felt one emotion: happiness. “Because he’s a great player,” Schwartz said of Galoustian, a combined 10-4 in singles at the previous two state meets. Galoustian’s game is highly entertaining, particularly when he strikes his devastatingly effective topspin lob from the forehand side. The weapon typically freezes — and deflates — aggressive opponents at the net. “He’s such a great shot maker,” Eckert said. “I’m going to soak in the last match [for third place] Alex plays and enjoy every shot he makes.” Galoustian/Schwartz’s lone loss at state was a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 semifinal decision to
by joel lerner
top-seeded Lope Adelakun/Chase Hamilton of Hinsdale Central. “We played to our strengths in the first set,” said Galoustian, who plans to major in finance at DePaul. They set up in an odd formation for a couple of points near the end of their final match on May 31. As Schwartz served for the match against Hinsdale Central’s No. 2 team, Galoustian stood almost directly behind him. Their foes had no idea where Galoustian would position himself to await a service return. The clever tactic worked. New Trier’s state trophy was the program’s eighth in the last 11 seasons. Highland Park High School It was right there on the back of their team T-shirts, for all to see at last weekend’s state tennis tournament: A “67” in the middle of a red circle, with a red line back-slashing part of the number. The Giants finished 67th at last year’s state tournament. “That was not acceptable,” Giants coach Steve Rudman said. His 2014 crew performed significantly better — 60 spots better. Rudman’s reigning Central Suburban League North Meet and Highland Park Sectional champions finished seventh (23 points) at the three-day tourney. “We were hoping top five,” Rudman said. “But overall it was a great step from where we were as a team last year.” All four of the Giants’ state entrants earned seeds. Junior Max Gordon/sophomore David Aizenberg (5-8 seed) placed in the top 12 in doubles after winning five of seven matches, including a 7-6 (3), 6-4 defeat of Warren Sectional champions Greg Frauenheim/Jordon O’Kelly of Lake Forest High School in a back-draw match. “Great tournament, great season for them … for a doubles team that hadn’t played together before the season,” Rudman said. HP’s pair of singles state qualifiers — freshman Jacob Edelchik and sophomore Nick Zazove — bounced back after absorbing second-round losses. Edelchik won four straight in the back draw, while Zazove eliminated three netters in straight sets. “Nick drew a tough player in the second round [Plainfield South’s Austin Russell], a
Back-up plan: With Alex Galoustian looking on, New Trier’s Corey Schwartz (right) serves up a shot during the state third-place doubles match. photography by joel lerner
player I thought should have been seeded,” Rudman said. HPHS junior Teddy Dunn and the state team’s lone senior, Eli Schneider, went 3-2 as the Giants’ other state doubles entrant. “I was really proud and pleased with how all of our guys played,” Rudman summed. “We won with class and lost with dignity.” ■