The final day of the IHSA 1A and 2A boys tennis meets are here at Hersey High School. We’ll be bouncing around to various championships and third place matches.
1A Third Place Doubles
Benet Academy playing for third place in 1A doubles with Andrew Donovan and Noah Bobofchak. The Redwings are facing Zachary Donnini & Arav Jagroop from University of Illinois Laboratory High School. Benet fell to eventual state doubles champions Akshay Garapati & Kiran Garapati from Latin in the semi finals.
Donnini and Jagroop are able to hang tough early with a well placed forehand.
But off the Donovan serve, Bobofchak slams a smash home and the Redwings take the opening set.
Benet stays hot in the second set as Donovan delivers the smash here. The Redwings win the 1A third place medals and finish 6th as a team. Latin is the team champion with Champaign Centennial in second place thanks to singles champion Max Braun. Metamora in third.
2A Singles Championship
Moving up to class 2A for the singles State Championship. The hometown hero from Hersey Max Sheldon takes on Max Bengtsson from New Trier.
Sheldon is the Max in control in the first set, getting off to a 6-3 start. One set away from the state title.
But Bengtsson flips the script in set two, winning 6-3. He then seizes control in the third set, bringing home the singles crown 6-2. That clinches the team state championship for New Trier.
2A Doubles Championship
We conclude with the 2A Doubles state championship. The top seed Colin Fox & John Rogers from New Trier look to add a doubles championship to the Team State title for the Trevians. Naperville Central’s Danyaal Saeed and Blake Roegner are back in the state championship match after finishing as the runners up in 2019.
Early on Fox and Rogers are very much in control. The New Trier duo cruises to win the first set 6-2 and put the Redhawks on the ropes.
Central bounces back in the second set and forces a third with a 6-4 victory. You just knew there would be no rolling over from this duo.
Redhawks on the brink of defeat in set three however. Trailing 5 games to 2, the red and white battle back to win back to back games to stay alive.
Now Central is rolling, Saeed with an ace and just like that, the Redhawks have won four straight games and lead 6-5.
State Championship point, Saeed serving in the far court, New Trier sends it back but Roegner pounces and puts the shot away to seal the third set win.
Blake Roegner and Danyaal Saeed at the 2021 2A doubles champions. The first ever state championship in singles or doubles for the Redhawks. Though the team did win the 2A state title as a team in 2017 with Blake and Danyaal’s older brothers, Ryan and Amaar as members of the team. New Trier is the State Champion with Hinsdale Central in second, Stevenson in third and Naperville Central in 7th as a team.
