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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mike Dowling
Marian Central, fr.
It hasn’t taken long for Dowling to make his mark on the Hurricanes’ tennis team. In just his freshman season, he earned the No. 2 singles spot and has put together an impressive year.
Last weekend, he continued his run by claiming first place at the Crystal Lake Central Invitational in No. 2 singles. He will try to continue his strong run into this weekend, where he will be the No. 1 seed in the North side of the bracket in No. 2 singles in the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament at Joliet Catholic.
NORTHWEST HERALD POWER RANKINGS
1. Jacobs: The Golden Eagles stormed through the Fox Valley Conference with a perfect record.
2. Prairie Ridge: The Wolves' only dual loss of the season came at Jacobs.
3. Cary-Grove: The Trojans finished the regular season with a 7-0 win over Woodstock.
4. Crystal Lake South: The Gators have won five of their past six matches heading into Thursday's match with Huntley.
5. Crystal Lake Central: The Tigers took third place in their own eight-team invitational over the weekend.
NOTEWORTHY
Jacobs' time to shine? Earlier this season, the Jacobs tennis made history when it beat Prairie Ridge for the first time in school history. Now, the Golden Eagles will try to do the same at the Fox Valley Conference Tournament.
Prairie Ridge enters the tournament as the reigning champion and with two state qualifiers from last season in senior Hayden Dzurisin and sophomore Patrick Nasta. However, Jacobs remains the team to beat at the tournament with a deep lineup that boasts four state qualifiers of its own in Kailash Panchapakesan, Riley Rowan, Kendrick Chong and Kerwin Chong.
Three-peat for Panchapakesan? Four years ago at the the FVC Tournament, Jacobs No. 1 Panchapakesan narrowly lost in the championship match. That loss his freshman year remains his only FVC loss.
Over the past two seasons, he’s claimed two FVC championships. Now, at this weekend’s FVC Tournament, he’ll go for the three-peat.
However, there are several competitors vying for that top honor. Prairie Ridge’s Hayden Dzurisin, the runner-up last season, will certainly be in the mix. Also, Crystal Lake South’s Nick Thome could make a run at the title after sitting out last year’s meet because of an injury.
Marian Central seeded high: The Marian Central boys tennis team earned several high seeds heading into this weekend's ESCC Tournament. At No. 1 singles, sophomore Ian Brzeski earned the No. 3 seed in the North side of the bracket. At No. 2 singles, Dowling is the No. 1 seed in the North side of the bracket. The No. 1 doubles team of Connor Pivnicka and Sam Reckamp took the third seed in the North. The No. 2 doubles team of Cade Seegers and Charlie Reyes will play from the No. 3 seed in the North. And the No. 3 doubles team of Patrick Struttman and Christian Fernandez will be the No. 4 seed in the North.
Matches of the week
Fox Valley Conference Tournament
The tournament begins at 1 p.m. Friday at Crystal Lake South and continues at 8 a.m. Saturday.
East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament
Marian Central will compete in the ESCC Championships at Joliet Catholic beginning at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Spirit of the Northwest Tournament, 1 p.m. Tuesday
Johnsburg will travel to Lakes for the Spirit of the Northwest Tournament.