TROJANS OF THE WEEK
2024 TROJANS OF THE WEEK
2024 WEEK 7: CHRIS PTASZEK & LINCOLN KARLOVSKY
#3 doubles team Chris Ptaszek & Lincoln Karlovsky have gone 5-2 in their last 7 matches and gone 4-0 in the last 4 FVC duals with their biggest win coming over Jacobs this past week where they played some great tennis and contributed hugely to our team win. Chris and Lincoln are always playing hard in practices and matches and have very coachable attitudes.
2024 WEEK 6: NOAH MARRANO & NATE DEAL
#1 doubles team Noah Marrano & Nate Deal went 3-1 in last week's matches, with two of them being 2 of their toughest FVC doubles match-ups so far. After a hard-fought, close loss to top FVC team Prairie Ridge, they still had fight in them and bounced back to play another top FVC doubles team--Huntley--the next day where after losing the 1st set, came back and fought hard to win the next two sets and the match.
2024 WEEK 5: ZACH NYGREN
Zach Nygren got pulled up from JV to fill an open spot at 4 doubles, looked very comfortable and stayed another 3 matches. He went 3-0 and brought energy, competitiveness, & desire along with those wins...a great attitude coming right into Varsity mid-season! Looking forward to seeing his contribution moving forward!
2024 WEEK 4: JACKSON KARLOVSKY
Jackson Karlovsky moved out of his comfort zone this week....not only from doubles to singles, but from the 3D spot to the 1S spot--quite the jump! He got the call when we were going to be missing our usual 1S player due to a ACT test conflict. If he was nervous, he didn't show it. What he did show, was incredible fight, tenacity and coachability in every match against tough 1S players during a very long day of match play. Even against higher level players, he kept every match close, fighting back to go extra sets, and showed why he is such a great example of being a coachable player.
2024 WEEK 3: DEREK PASSAGLIA & RYAN DIXON
2 Doubles team Derek Passaglia & Ryan Dixon went 3-0 this past weekend at our home invite with wins over Chicago Brooks, Lake Forest Academy, and St. Francis. In their semi-final match, they fought back from behind after losing the 1st set to a tough LFA team, to win the 2nd set convincingly and then taking the 3rd set tie-break for the win.
2024 WEEK 2: NOAH MARRANO
Noah Marrano was a no brainer for this week's TOTW. He went 6-0 at the Edwardsville Invitational, playing 3 singles and 3 doubles over the span of 2 days and garnering wins over Marion, Belleville West, and Waterloo. But it's not only his results that earned him TOTW honors, but also his consistent and vocal support of his teammates....during warmups, during practice, during matches on and off the court....you can always hear Noah shouting out and encouraging his teammates. He is a great example of what our team should all strive to do!
2024 WEEK 1: LEO PETROPOULOS & OWEN LONERGAN
1st TOTW honors of the 2024 season going to 2 new varsity players! Junior Leo Petropoulos goes 2-0 getting wins in both singles & dubs, & freshie Owen Lonergan gets a dubs win vs. Wauconda giving them their first varsity wins of their careers! Way to step up guys!
2023 TROJANS OF THE WEEK
2023 WEEK 9: JACOB KANTAYYA
Jacob is in the spotlight once again, this time for his performance at the FVC tournament. He went 3-0 in the tourney, taking out the undefeated 1 seed from CLC in the final, coming back after losing the first set 4-6, to then drop only 1 game & win the super tiebreak 10-0. His battle out there earned him Conference Champ accolades at 3S. Not only did Jacob earn conference champ this season at 3 singles, but this came after he also upset the 1 seed last year to become conference champ at 4 doubles (with partner Derek Passaglia)...he's back to back conference champ!
2023 WEEK 8: LEWIS JOHNSON
2 Singles Lewis Johnson bounced back from a hard loss vs. a very good Wauconda player, to then win his next 3 matches. His highlight was a huge upset win playing up a roster spot against Hampshire’s #1 singles, winning in straight sets.
2023 WEEK 7: DEREK PASSAGLIA & RYAN DIXON
2 dubs duo Derek Passaglia/Ryan Dixon had a big week going 5-1 with wins over McHenry, GLN, Wheeling, GLC, & a big win against Huntley. Their only loss came against PR where due to rain, had to be suspended in the 3rd set and completed the following day which is always tough.
2023 WEEK 6: CHRIS WEBER & ZACH MAZEK
Chris Weber & Zach Mazek had a great week going 3-0 in duals vs CLS, Lake Zurich & CLC at their home spot of 4th dubs, & 2-1 at 3 dubs over the weekend at the Harlem Invite to earn them 2nd place in their bracket and contribute to our team 2nd place finish.
2023 WEEK 5: JACOB KANTAYYA
Jacob Kantayya had a strong showing at a very tough Hersey Invitational this past weekend. He went 2-1 getting a great win at 3rd singles vs Glenbard West & fought through a close 3-set match to earn his 2nd W at 3rd dubs vs Buffalo Grove. Showing his versatility!
2023 WEEK 4: LEWIS JOHNSON
Lewis had a weekend of tough matches due to not only playing through INSANE winds, but very tough opponents at the Edwardsville Invitational. He had 3 of the closest matches of the weekend for the team, pulling off a great 3-set win against Chaminade, MO, then lost a heart-breaking 3-setter against O'Fallon, and close 2-set match against Metamora. As ALWAYS...he fights to the very end and never gets down mentally! #fightlikelew
2023 WEEK 3: LUCCA BLOHM
Lucca is new to varsity this year and bringing the work ethic and the energy every day, while also being one of the most supportive teammates as well. Lucca showed how hard he could fight in his first varsity singles match against Warren, losing a very close match in the set tie-break.
2023 WEEK 2: BRYCE SHECHTMAN
Bryce Shechtman is our usual #1 doubles guy, but for our Warren match which was played in the collegiate format, he got to also play singles as well and did a great job. He battled through a tough match at the 2nd singles spot to earn his first win of the season.
2023 WEEK 1: GAVIN HENRIQUES
Gavin is not only new to the team, but new to competitive tennis, and has been one of our hardest workers. He has a great positive growth mindset--taking on learning a lot of new things day in and day out--and also brings a great attitude and energy to push his teammates daily. He's a great asset to our team!
2022 TROJANS OF THE WEEK
2022 WEEK 7: SAM KEDZIOR
#1 SINGLES player Sam Kedzior came off a great FVC tourney where he had his highest finish of his 1 singles career taking 4th place, and used that momentum to carry him right into the IHSA Sectional tournament where he qualified for state in the singles flight. Sam is our first singles qualifier since 2013, showing how hard it is to qualify in that position!
2022 WEEK 6: jACOB KANTAYYA & DEREK PASSAGLIA
#4 DOUBLES team Jacob Kantayya & Derek Passaglia started off the week getting a hard-fought win over a tough Hampshire team for their last conference match of the season. They then went into the FVC tourney this past weekend with the 2nd seed in their 4th dubs flight and ended up getting to the finals against the Jacobs team that handed them a loss in our dual earlier in the season. These guys went out and played CONFIDENT tennis and took out the #1 seeded Jacobs team 6-2, 6-4 to take the FVC tournament championship for 4th doubles. Way to end your season!
2022 WEEK 5: NOAH MARANNO
#2 SINGLES player Noah Maranno went 5-1 last week with singles wins against Lake Zurich, CLC, Buffalo Grove & Niles North and one doubles win against Niles North. His biggest battle though was the Lake Zurich match where he lost the first set 3-6, and although frustrated, overcame his emotions to come back to take the 2nd set 6-2 and finish the match with a 10-7 match tie-break win. Noah has shown growth in his mental and emotional toughness on the court this year and it's showing in his results.
2022 WEEK 4: TOM FORNELLI & DANIEL JAUCH
#2 DOUBLES pair Tom Fornelli & Daniel Jauch had both a very successful week and intense one at the same time...this team went 3-0 kicking off their week with an easy win over Grayslake Central, but then more than made up for that easy win with some high intensity matches against Huntley and Jacobs. In the Huntley match, Tom and Daniel went down quickly losing 1-6 in the first set, but clawed their way back (almost literally) to take the 2nd set in a tie-breaker. They then turned the tables in the 3rd set, taking that 6-1 and CLINCHING the 4th team point for the overall win. An exciting match to finish off a great & CLOSE match with Huntley. Jacobs through us for a loop with an interesting lineup they chose to go with and even though they put their BEST doubles player at 2 dubs (who is very good), Tom and Daniel battled through the entire match and pulled out the win in a close 7-5, 7-5 score--both guys having the best returning games of their lives. A fantastic week for these guys who fight like....TROJANS!
2022 WEEK 3: SAM KEDZIOR
#1 SINGLES Sam Kedzior earns this week's honor with his usual tough and scrappy play that frustrates so many opponents. He went 4-1 last week with three #1 singles wins over McHenry, PR and Nazareth and one #1 doubles win over Grant. It was his PR win that was probably the biggest of his HS career to date though. To make it even more perfect, it came on Senior Night, where he BATTLED over 2.5 hours for 3 sets--last match on the court for half of it with fans from both sides lining courtside--to come out with a 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 victory! Definitely a match for the memory books!
2022 WEEK 2: BRANDON BURTSCHI & BRYCE SHECHTMAN
#1 DOUBLES pair Brandon Burtschi & Bryce Shechtman--or "B-squared"-- battled it all week long in some tough matches against CLS and at the Harlem Invite. They fought from behind against CLS in each set to come back and win, and then at the Harlem Invite lost the 1st set tie-breakers against both Rock Island & Homewood-Flossmoor only to turn it around taking both matches to a 3rd set and winning both. They then played some great tennis in the final against a talented and experienced Glenbrook North team, despite the loss. Brandon is one of our most driven and vocal leaders out there--the perfect partner for our new freshie Bryce.
2022 WEEK 1: LEWIS JOHNSON
#3 SINGLES player Lewis Johnson earned his first Varsity "W" earlier in the week in our dual against Dundee-Crown, then showed his determination at a VERY tough (and cold!) Hersey Invite on Saturday. After losing his first round vs. Hersey pretty soundly, he bounced back and refocused to play a tough match against Prospect, and then finally clinched a win over his Buffalo Grove opponent.
2021 TROJANS OF THE WEEK
2021 WEEK 5: Tyler Deal/Michael Csoka
#4 dubs team Tyler Deal & Michael Csoka get the honors this week. The duo went 2-0 last week but more importantly, played aggressively to win in straight sets versus Jacobs to earn our lone team point against them.
2021 WEEK 4: Sam Kedzior
Sam Kedzior took the #1 singles position this year & has run with it. This past week he went 5–0 with his most impressive showing at our Huntley match where he beat a solid player & earned the loan team point vs. a tough Huntley lineup.
2021 WEEK 3: Jacob Schaefer
Jacob Schaefer is awarded Trojan of the Week not only for his 3-0 record last week, but for his attitude and effort. Jacob got wins against Grayslake Central, Crystal Lake Central and Hampshire, but the one that stood out was his singles match against CLC that split sets. Jacob lost the first set 2-6, but then battled back to win the 2nd set in a closely contended tie-breaker that went extra points, going to 10-8. Being the last match on the court, he then pulled out the third-set tie-breaker to give CG the 5-2 team win. Most impressive was him volunteering to take on the singles position while a teammate was out sick and wanting to challenge himself in a different position.
2021 WEEK 2: Brandon Burtschi/Michael Csoka
Brandon Burtschi & Michael Csoka not only pulled out a tough 3-set win against CLS in our opening FVC match last Thursday, but also went 4-0 at this past Saturday's Mundelein Invitational and won the key match to clinch a share of team 1st place. And while doing so, they displayed amazing teamwork and communication as a doubles team out there...a testimony to their success and a great example for their teammates to follow!
2021 WEEK 1: Noah Marrano
Freshman Noah Marrano grabs the season's first honor by starting his rookie season with a bang, showing strong this past weekend at our varsity CG Invite. He went 3-0 earning wins at 2 singles, 1 dubs and 1 singles, keeping great composure on the court, especially for a freshman playing his first HS matches.