By Randy Whalen

A goal of an athletic program is to grow and improve. 

That's what the Joliet Township boys tennis team has done. 

There have been a few struggles for the team, which co-ops from Joliet Central and Joliet West, in the past few years. But this season's squad is better and larger, and that showed at last weekend's Joliet Township Invite. That was held on Saturday, April 25, at Joliet West and also down the road at Joliet Catholic Academy. 

While Joliet Township finished in the middle of the 8-team tournament, it was a success.

"The program is growing," said Joliet West coach Cristina Hackett, who is in her third season as head coach. "We have guys out this season, and we are continuing to grow. We have a bunch of hardworking athletes who are learning about themselves."

That growth and learning transcended into some good matches at the tournament. Joliet's fellow Southwest Prairie Conference team, Plainfield Central, coached by 34-year veteran John Bayer, won the tourney with 34 points. Lemont (32), Rockton Hononegah (26), Joliet (21), Joliet Catholic Academy (20), Plainfield South (19), Lincoln-Way West (18), and Oak Lawn Community (10) completed the competitive field.

Where Joliet excelled in its tournament was in the singles positions. Take seniors Dimitris Kourtidis, who placed third at No. 1 singles, and Joe O'Brien, who placed second at No. 2 singles. 

"I played well," Kourtidis said of the tournament. "I lost 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinal to Braden Monson, and even though I got battered, it was fun to be battered. I feel like it makes me a better player, just by going against him."

As a junior at Hononegah last season, Monson went 3-2 in the Class 2A State Finals. He has a 13-3 record this season (through April 29) and is expected to be in the mix for a medal at state this season. 

Kourtidis opened the tourney with an 8-6 pro set win over JCA junior Cormac Wagner. After losing to Monson, he rebounded to defeat Lemont senior Parker Hsu 6-3, 6-1 to place third. Monson won the title 6-1, 6-0 over Plainfield Central senior Milan Modhera.

"My arm hurt in the first match, but I sucked it up, put some tape on it, and played well in the third-place match," Kourtidis said. "I played first doubles my sophomore year and started playing on first doubles as a junior. Then I went to second singles and first singles for the end-of-year playoffs.

"My strategy has been to have more control of the lines. We have a tough sectional, and have to be ready."

While O'Brien placed second, he wasn't even supposed to be in that spot. After defeating Lincoln-Way West sophomore Aaron Aleo in an opening pro set, he rallied in the semifinal for a 7-6 (6-1), 6-1 win over Oak Lawn senior Stefan Perojevic, who was the top seed at second doubles. Perojevic entered that match with a 14-1 record. 

"I was down 4-0 in the first set and came back to win," O'Brien said. "I just had nothing to lose. So I told myself that I was 'going to put it all on black and go for it.'"

That's what he did, but he lost to Plainfield Central senior Linus Yuan 7-6, 6-2 in the final. Still, it was a successful tourney for O'Brien, who didn't play high school tennis last season.

"I just told myself, 'let's do it,' after taking a year off," O'Brien said. "When I play out there, I just don't give up. I just go for it every time, and every bounce matters."

Also for Joliet Township, sophomore Rocco Jones and junior Brian Nguyen placed 7th at No. 1 doubles. So did senior Exavier Rodriguez and junior Jakob Huerta at No. 2 doubles. At No. 3 doubles, juniors Marcus White and Jaylen Seale took fifth with a hard-fought 11-9 pro set win.  

Three days later, on Tuesday, April 28, Joliet defeated host Bolingbrook 5-2 in an SPC match and improved to 5-7 overall on the season. O'Brien at No. 2 and Nguyen at No. 3 had wins in singles. Senior Caleb Price and Jones won at No. 1 doubles. White and Seale won at No. 3 doubles, while senior Jayce Carmine and junior Bao Le also won at No. 4 doubles. 

"Usually, Rocco and Caleb are at first doubles," Hackett explained of Jones and Price. We will be looking toward them, and also Joe (O'Brien) has really been coming up in singles. I have to give big credit to Coach Donovan Smith, who is from Joliet Central and has been helping a lot. He's awesome. We are looking forward to the conference meet."

The SPC meet will be held on Wednesday, May 13, at Minooka. Joliet is in the Class 2A Lincoln-Way Central Sectional, which will be held on Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24.