Shafer steps in for injured teammate, nearly qualifies

TENNIS -- Even without their top gun available, the members of the North Shore Country Day tennis team didn't go down without a fight Saturday at the Niles North Sectional.

With No. 1 player Luke Gensburg -- who reached the final 16 at the state tournament last year -- sidelined by a broken wrist, the Raiders settled for a tie for seventh place in the team standings with six points and failed to advance anyone to the state finals in singles or doubles.

Gensburg, a junior, suffered a fall in the first round of Independent School League tournament play and X-rays later revealed he had fractured his right wrist. That moved sophomore Ben Shafer into the No. 1 slot for coach Jim Franke's Raiders.

Shafer won his first two matches before being eliminated one win short of a state trip in a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 loss to Evanston's Joe Collins.

"He played a tough, smart three-set match and played with a lot of heart," Franke praised. "He's young and I think he just got out-experienced by a hair by Collins. He showed me that he' s right there when it comes to being a state competitor, and now he knows he belongs there.

"Ben hits a powerful ball and if he keeps it in play, he can wear an opponent down. He doesn't always have to go for winners. He has all the shots and he's developed more mental toughness this year to become one of the premier players in the state."

Also showing impressive progress was the doubles team of freshman Tommy Nathan and Cam Talty, who fell short in an upset bid against Niles West's Avi Schneider and Edmund Phan in the first round of sectional play.

Freshman Max Chung and doubles players Alex Block and David Trot all return next year for the Raiders.

"This is a young group that learned a lot this season about what it takes to get to the next level and beat some of the best teams in the conference and sectional," said Franke. "I expect that they'll come back hungry next year, because they could be a part of something special."