Huskies' Jacobs nearly overcomes injuries

It will never be known how a healthy Michael Jacobs would have fared at the state tennis tournament.

The Oak Park-River Forest junior had the second of two cortisone shots in his left wrist the day before the state tournament started on Thursday.

Jacobs also battled through a shoulder injury the last few weeks of the regular season.

"He had all kinds of injuries this year," OPRF coach John Morlidge said. "I think that shows how much he wanted to play."

Jacobs, who was seeded nine through 16, breezed through the first day with wins in straight sets over Reid Mutschler (Naperville North), Peter Heidrich (Peoria Notre Dame) and Andrew Rice (St. Viator).

The chance for Jacobs to pick up a state medal for a second straight year hit a snag in the fourth round with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 loss to unseeded Tim Kopinski (Stagg).

Jacobs and 2007 OPRF graduate Jared Connolly finished in third place in the doubles bracket last spring.

"It was a heartbreaking loss (to Kopinski)," Morlidge said. "He had that match and let it slip away. The other kid played out of his mind. If they play 20 times Mike beats him 19."

Jacobs recovered briefly in the consolation bracket with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ben Shklyar (Deerfield) on Friday.

That turned out to be the final win of the season, as Jacobs was eliminated after a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Matt Goralka (Payton Prep).

Jacobs needed two more wins to advance into the fifth place match.

The top doubles team for OPRF of Tim Martin and Devin Jones, who were seeded five through eight, reached the consolation quarterfinals before being ousted in a 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 loss to West Suburban Conference Silver Division rivals Dave Robare and Nick Kenaga of Lyons Township.

Another win in the consolation bracket would have put Martin and Jones in the fifth-place match.

Martin and Jones had no trouble on Day 1, losing only 10 games in their three wins.

Another upset against the Huskies came in Round 4 when Martin and Jones lost 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 to David Ruedi and Quinn Miller (Champaign Centennial), who were seeded nine through 16.

It took Martin and Jones a little while to shake off the loss in a come-from-behind 6-7, 6-0, 6-1 crushing of Lewis Towne and Colby Clapper (Danville).

The last win for the OPRF duo came in a 6-4, 6-4 decision against Tim Martin and Mark Angel (Benet Academy).

Danny Vollman finished with a 5-2 record in the tournament, while the other doubles team of Matt Harris and Alex Gebert also won 5-of-7 matches.

The Huskies finished fifth in the team standings with 27 points.

The top four teams were WSC Silver Division rival Hinsdale Central (37), Stevenson (36), New Trier (35) and Highland Park (31).

"We had high expectations after finishing fourth last year," Morlidge said. "We probably overachieved last year and underachieved this year. The other teams just played better. We did not play smart or up to our potential."

FENWICK

The state tennis tournament turned out to be a one-day experience for Fenwick.

The lone point for the Friars came on a 7-5, 6-1 win by Mike Pill over Peter Walker (Mount Vernon) in the consolation bracket on Thursday.

Pill lost in the first round 6-0, 6-0 to Brock Reiman (Morton) and in the second round of consolation play 6-2, 6-2 against Tim Stanis (Marian Catholic).

Rob Hickey fell in Round 1 to Austin Meeker (Galesburg) 6-0, 6-4 and in the consolation bracket to Ryan Kunz (Downers Grove North ) 6-3, 6-0.

Dominic Campagna and Matt Hipskind lost in straight sets to Sam Solberger and Phillip Reinken (Morton) in the championship bracket, and to David Martin and Greg Mulligan (Barrington) in consolation play.

Ed Crane and Tyler Kiefer lost a hard-fought 7-6, 7-5 decision in the consolation bracket to Lee Buehnerkemper and Michael Brummer (Teutopolis).

The Fenwick duo lost 6-2, 6-0 against Dan Ballantine and Ian Tesmond (Hinsdale Central) in the opening round.