Bears' Redlicki finishes fourth in state

TENNIS -- People of all ages were seeing "Red" at last weekend's state tennis meet in Arlington Heights.

But they weren't angry.

Instead, they were thoroughly enjoying the play of 6-foot-6 freshman Michael "Red" Redlicki of Lake Zurich. The Bear, seeded 9-16 in singles, was the talk of the tourney at Hersey after dismissing 5-8 seed Ben Hoogland of Glenbrook South and 3-4 seed Robert Stineman of New Trier in straight sets in the fourth round and quarterfinals, respectively.

He wound up in fourth place -- the best finish in school history.

The big lefty didn't just blast groundstroke winners to the corners and pound aces past stunned foes, he turned tennis balls into pulp.

"It's all about being aggressive," said a juiced Redlicki after his 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Hoogland on Friday morning. "If you're not aggressive (at this level), you don't exist."

Redlicki then overwhelmed Stineman in a 6-1, 6-2 knockout. Redlicki figured Stineman -- the reigning No. 1 singles champion of the prestigious Pitchford Invite -- had defeated him at least 10 times in 10 matches at USTA tournaments before their state quarterfinal on Friday afternoon.

"I was playing out of my mind, and I think he self-destructed," Redlicki said. "I was doing my thing. Stineman, you could see, didn't like what was going on, and he got frustrated."

Redlicki had never before played in front of the large crowds he saw last weekend. But they didn't rattle him in the least.

"He likes the commotion of lots of people watching him because it fires him up," LZ coach Kristin Chamberlain said. "The crowds help him."

The difference between the audience in the late rounds of the state meet and that at sanctioned summer tourneys is a big one. Big "Red," who wasn't chewing gum at the time, compared the two types of congregations after his state quarterfinal.

"At summer tournaments, you get maybe a few parents of the players plus players who are scouting you," he said.

Redlicki was one of three players from the NSC to reach the state semifinals. Eventual state champion Blake Bazarnik of Stevenson beat Redlicki 6-2, 6-2 in a semi Saturday morning, and Warren senior and defending state singles champion Denis Bogatov of Warren downed Redlicki 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the third-place match.

But the steady buzz surrounding Redlicki's impressive run didn't abate during the losses on Saturday. Senior teammate Matt Arends, for one, looked like a rapt moviegoer who didn't want a film to end on Saturday.

"He's a great player, isn't he?" Arends said. "He's also a fun guy, a great teammate. Off the court, he's a big joker; he calls me 'Shorty,' and I'm 6-foot-3. But when it comes time to play matches, he's all serious, all business."

Arends first saw Redlicki play tennis before the start of the season, at a clay-court doubles tournament. The future Bear struck winner after winner after winner.

Arends was star-struck.

"He was ridiculous -- ridiculously good," Arends recalled.

Early results: Redlicki lost a combined five games in six sets in his first three rounds at the state tourney on May 28: 6-0, 6-0 over Centralia's Jon David Urshan; 6-0, 6-1 over Carmi White County's Muhammad Saqib; and 6-1, 6-3 over Andrew's Jacob Tanulanond.