Experienced Hawks hope to soar in 2010

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No. 2 will be No. 1 in 2010.

Maine South will likely open the 2010 season as the No. 1 team in the Chicago area. Seven of the Hawks’ top eight players are underclassmen including five juniors (Eric, Matt and John Butch, Evan Bowler and Mike Hejza), a sophomore (Spencer Groessl) and a freshman (Scotty Adamczyk).

Despite the team’s youth, Eric Butch recognized Maine South’s potential as early as the end of the 2008 season.

“We started to jell at the end of the last year,” Butch said. “We only lost three seniors. Everybody pretty much picked up where they left off, and I knew we were going to get better.”

Other teams to watch in 2010 will be Sandburg, Buffalo Grove and Providence. Players to watch include Buffalo Grove’s Nick Baronti, Hinsdale Central’s Graham McIlvaine, Sandburg’s Tyler Parks, Loyola’s Reis Foster and Lincoln-Way Central’s Connor Wexter.

BACK FOR MORE: Maine South senior libero Matt Schueller was a reserve on Maine South’s 2006 title team led by Kristap Staks and Teddy Adamczyk.

“That team was a true underdog story,” Schueller said. “Nobody expected a lot out of us. Everybody on that team was so much fun. Everybody was so relaxed.”

What did Schueller tell his teammates after the Hawks squandered a 10-2 lead in Game 2 and were taken to a Game 3 by Buffalo Grove in Saturday’s thrilling 25-22, 23-25, 25-23 semifinal victory?

“I just told these guys to relax, take it one point at a time and don’t get freaked out if you make an error,” he said. “Just don’t make the same error again.”

JINXED?: Sports Illustrated cover curse?

Friday’s quarterfinals marked the third consecutive year the Sun-Times’ Player of the Year was unable to lead his team into the semifinals. The early exit of Marist and Joe Smalzer followed on the heels of Glenbard East and Dan Mader (2008) and Brother Rice and Josh Scaletta (2007).