Barrington edges out Titans at Schaumburg

Updated: May 21, 2011 5:17PM

Barrington and Glenbrook South were out in full force at the Schaumburg Sectional.

Although the Broncos barely edged out the Titans 26-25 for the sectional championship, both sides will be well represented at next weekend’s state tournament.

“I thought it was an outstanding performance by this team in a tough draw with the Glenbrooks and some great players from Conant and Schaumburg,” said Barrington head coach John Roncone. “They came through and played with a lot of heart and we got it done.”

Barrington and GBS controlled both finals as the Broncos had the teams of George Coll and Ben Nuckles and Ben Adams and Greg Baker in doubles while the Titans had Michael Sellito and Sam Hoogland in singles.

“That last match, I was playing more on my game than I was earlier,” said Coll. “I kind of got in a rhythm and Friday I played pretty well, but there wasn’t that many teams that were the caliber of today.”

In singles, Sellito finished the weekend 4-0 which included a 6-0, 7-5 win over Glenbrook North’s Brian Levitas and a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Hoogland.

This marks Sellito’s third straight appearance in the state tournament as he finished third in 2009 and in the top eight in 2010 both as part of a doubles team.

Hoogland, who’s brother Ben was a three time state qualifier, will make his first appearance as a freshman and try to match his brother’s quarterfinal run last season.

“If he’s playing well, he can do it,” said GBS head coach Larry Faulkner. “If his serve’s working, and he’s an excellent player, [Hoogland and Sellito] both can be in the quarterfinals.”

Levitas and Schaumburg’s Isriz Balase will also be making their third trips to state after the Spartans senior defeated Balase 6-4, 6-1 in the third place match.

GBN wasn’t involved in the tight race for first, but ended up with third and 19 points.

Coll and Nuckles took home the doubles crown with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over teammates Adams and Baker.

This will be the second straight season for Nuckles at state in a pair, but Coll has advanced to state the two previous years as a singles competitor.

“I can hit my shots harder and I don’t have to worry about being as consistent,” Coll said. “I volley better than I do and it’s all going to be about taking the net for trainingwise.”

The Titans also had Konrad Ryba and Michael Levin advance with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Conant’s Takuma Ito and Peter Itskovich in the third place game.

The Cougars ended up finishing fifth with a final total of eight points.

The pair from GBS is in the same boat as the team from Barrington as Levin competed in doubles in 2010 and Ryba was in singles, but did play in a pair in 2009.

GBN was left disappointed as both of its doubles pairs were ousted in the quarterfinals.

“We’re really disappointed obviously,” said GBN head coach Jeff Jordan. “It’s easy to put a lot of emphasis on the sectional and getting to state and to get some perspective, both the teams we lost to are good teams, but on the other hand, we shouldn’t be happy. It’s alright to be a little upset that you lost because we beat the one team before and we had it on our rackets and that’s a match we’ve got to win.”

The teams of Tommy Snape and Michael Osher and Bill Angel and Josh Sawyer both drew tough competition; Snape, Osher and Angel were all involved in last year’s state meet.

Angel and Sawyer were defeated 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) by Conant’s pair while Snape and Osher lost 6-2, 6-4 to the Broncos’ second team.

The host Saxons placed fourth and failed to advance three other players from the quarterfinals as Ben Brito lost 6-0, 6-1 to Levitas and Aaron Borst and Aditya Narravula lost 6-0, 6-2 to Coll and Nuckles.

The furthest anyone reached for Rolling Meadows was the team of Ryan Kulpins and Attilio Bonasera who fell 6-2, 6-2 to Ryba and Levin in the quarterfinals.

Unlike the Mustangs, Elk Grove did not exit the second round and ended the event 2-4 with victories from Dovy Sapkauskas in singles and Trevor Ingstrup and Kellett in doubles.

Hoffman Estates finished eighth at 1-3 with its lone win coming from Franco and Matt Holubecki in the first round.

Maine West couldn’t find any success and went 0-3 while taking the last spot with zero points.

The state finals will commence Thursday and will finish on Saturday and will be hosted by Hersey in Arlington Heights.

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