Redlicki steals show at state tennis

Hinsdale Central's Augi Bloom competes against Warren's Dennis Bogotov during the State quarterfinals at Hersey.
(Stacia Timonere/For the Sun-Times)

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Lake Zurich freshman Michael Redlicki had never played tennis in such a boisterous atmosphere before, but the pressure didn’t get to him.

Instead, his opponents cracked under the strain. Redlicki, a 9-16 seed, pulled off two upsets on the second day of the state finals Friday at Hersey to advance to Saturday’s singles semifinals.

The 6-6 left-hander surprised Glenbrook South junior Ben Hoogland, a 5-8 seed, 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round before pulling off a stunning 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over New Trier sophomore Robert Stineman, a 3-4 seed.

‘‘I didn’t really have any expectations coming in because I didn’t know how everything went, but now that I’ve got this far I’m extremely proud of myself,’’ Redlicki said. ‘‘I just played out of my mind. I just couldn’t believe the way I played.’’

Neither could Stineman (29-6), who was so frustrated that he was twice assessed penalties for an outburst early in the second set. Redlicki had played Stineman ‘‘at least’’ 10 times in USTA tournaments without beating him. On Friday, he was aggressive from the start, often winning forehand volleys at the net.

‘‘If you’re not aggressive you don’t exist out here at this level of competition,’’ Redlicki said. ‘‘We’re used to him doing that all the time.’’

Redlicki also stayed focused when Stineman melted down.

‘‘If your opponent gets down on himself, it helps you because then you want to capitalize on it,’’ Redlicki said. ‘‘He just destructed himself. I didn’t want to intentionally do anything to get in his head. I was doing my thing and he didn’t like what was going on so he just started getting mad at himself. I stayed calm.’’

Redlicki’s semifinal opponent will be No. 2 seed Blake Bazarnik (27-1), who beat Hinsdale Central’s Krishna Ravella 6-2, 6-4. The Stevenson junior has handed Redlicki three of his four losses this spring, including a 6-4, 6-3 decision in the sectional semifinals.

The other semifinal will pit top-seeded Michael Moore of Glenbrook South against defending champion Denis Bogatov of Warren. Moore (35-1) knocked off New Trier’s Andrew Scholnick 6-1, 6-3 while Bogatov (24-3) was impressive in a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Hinsdale Central’s Augie Bloom (30-4).

‘‘I think what happened was [Bloom] just kind of lost a little bit of confidence,’’ said Bogatov, who is battling a sore back and shoulder. ‘‘The first couple games were kind of tough and then after that he started missing early on. I was just patient throughout the match.’’

Bogatov is trying to become the first player since 1986 to win back-to-back titles but knows Moore, who beat him in three sets during the regular season, will be a tough foe.

‘‘Moore has been playing really well,’’ Bogatov said. ‘‘You can’t take [the No. 1 ranking] way from him. He’s probably the favorite but tomorrow I think anything can happen.’’

Three of the top four doubles teams advanced to the semifinals, including top-seeded Dan Ballantine and Ian Tesmond of Hinsdale Central, whose coach, Jay Kramer, is retiring after 50 years.

New Trier's John Beam and Brantner Jones, a 5-8 seed, upset 3-4 seeds Drew Feder and Corey Stumme of Belleville East 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.