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Stineman, New Trier primed for repeat
Updated: May 27, 2011 9:45PM
Ben Quazzo got the immediate attention of Robert Stineman.
“Ben’s a great player, and he came out of fire,” Stineman said.
The New Trier senior recovered from an 0-2 hole to outlast the Latin star 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinal round of the state tennis championships Friday afternoon at Hersey.
The top-seed Stineman remained alive in his quest to become the first repeat singles champion in 25 years. Stineman and Jared Hiltzik, the No. 2 seed, helped the defending state champions seize a commanding team lead leading into Saturday’s final round.
Hiltzik defeated Batavia sophomore Josh Cogan 7-5, 6-0 to force a semifinal match against Deerfield’s Jason Brown, the No. 3 seed. Brown defeated Hinsdale Central’s Sam Bloom 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
Up two points in the team race to start the second day, the Trevians rode the success of their singles stars and the doubles tandem of Drew Campbell and Thomas Fawcett to amass 42 points. Oak Park-River Forest is second with 32 points. Deerfield (30) and Hinsdale Central (28) are third and fourth, respectively.
Playing against each other for the third time this year, Quazzo broke Stineman to start the match.
“I had a lot of momentum at the start of the match,” Quazzo said. “A big crowd, a great atmosphere and a lot of people there to cheer me on and I really fed off of that.”
Stineman broke Quazzo in the fourth game and hit a spectacular backhand volley for the game-winner in the fifth game to seize the momentum.
“That was a bit of a lucky shot, I’m not going to make that every time,” Stineman said. “But it definitely helped me get the momentum.”
Stineman struggled with his serve at the start, double faulting four times in the first set. “The wind was making it very difficult to serve, especially the toss,” he said.
After the first game, Stineman held serve the balance of the match. He broke Quazzo twice in the second set to punch his ticket to the semifinals.
“He’s been in this position a lot, and he knows how to weather storms,” Quazzo said. “He’s lost first sets 6-1 and come back and won.
“In that first set, I was able to hold at 3-3, but against him, you have to have great service games all the time, not just once or twice.’’
Stineman advances to play Stagg’s Tim Kopinski in a rematch of last year’s state final. Kopinski rallied to oust Hinsdale Central’s Rafe Mosetick 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“At the start I came out too aggressive and tried to make too many big shots,” Kopinski said. “I was playing way too fast.” He recovered in the second set, using his excellent forehand to move Mosetick around.
“The first set happened so fast, it was like 15 minutes and I knew I had to play longer points and get into a better rhythm and that’s what I was able to do,” Kopinski said.
In doubles, top-seed Ross Putterman and David Packowitz of Stevenson continued to impress, dominating Highland Park’s David Zak and Jordan Hainsfurther 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. They face defending runner-up Tyler Manci and Zach Brint of Highland Park, who defeated Hinsdale Central’s Peter Heneghan and Alex Hagermoser. The Red Devils’ duo upset second-seed Jake Elliot and Danny Schuster of Lyons in the fourth round.
Campbell and Fawcett square off against Oak Park-River Forest’s Devin and Luke Trinka in the other semifinal.
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