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It’s time for boys tennis season. Here’s a look at teams around The Herald-News area.
Note to readers: Not all teams responded to the Herald-News' inquiry.
Coal City
Coach: Jeremy Unger
2024 record: 7-14
Top returners: Martin Ramirez, jr.; Devon McVey, jr.; Carsen Hart, jr.; Will Thompson, sr.; Sam Sterba, sr.; Tanner Shain, so.
Key newcomers: Aidan Meister, so.; Dom Chellino, so.
Worth noting: There’s reason for optimism this year for the Coalers with so much experience back. Coal City won the East Aurora Quad last year, a valuable moment for the development of this group. Unger said: “This year I am looking for my team to compete. A goal of mine is to improve from last year. I would love to switch the win/loss record from a year ago.”
Joliet Catholic
Coach: Scott Allgood
2024 record: 13-11
Top returner: Ryan Streitz, sr.
Key newcomer: Declan Wagner, so.; Cormac Wagner, so.; Frank Schuler, so.
Worth noting: The Hillltoppers had a solid season in 2024 with Streitz qualifying for state in the first doubles bracket. The bad news is they’ll be significantly younger this season. JCA graduated 13 seniors. The Wagners and Schuler will be counted on during a challenging schedule.
Lincoln-Way East
Coach: Chris Olson
2024 record: 19-1
Top returners: TJ Stoiber, jr.; Sam Cooley, sr.
Key newcomers: Quinn Paris, sr.; Nate Pangallo, jr.; Logan Neboska, sr.; Cole Philips, so.; Henry Phillips, so.
Worth noting: Lincoln-Way East was one of the top programs in the state last year and returns some quality pieces. The Griffins went 9-0 in SouthWest Suburban Conference play with a 63-0 record in individual matches. They ultimately won the conference as well as their sectional. They finished 20th at state. Stoiber went 26-9, won the sectional in singles and qualified for state. Cooley qualified for state in doubles after going 32-6 and winning the sectional. There will be a lot of new pieces this year, but that guidance should help. Olsen said: “Excited for a new season that will afford many of the younger players in the program an opportunity to step up and play meaningful starting roles. We graduated a tremendous senior group a year ago, so this season will be a year of development and growth as the younger players develop their experience and skills for the challenging varsity schedule.”
Plainfield Central
Coach: John Bayer
2024 record: 9-11
Top returners: Milan Modhera, jr.; Linus Yuan, jr.; Micah Ruland, sr.; Gavin Madarang, sr.; Andrew Imig, jr.; Logan Koeritz, jr.
Key newcomers: Johnny Tangtiwonse, sr.; Brady Husak, so.; Gavin Baikie, jr.; Owen Frosch, jr.; Collin Reavis, jr.
Worth noting: While the Wildcats will need to replace some depth from last year, there’s quality experience returning. Modhera and Yuan have played a lot of singles matches, while Ruland and Madarang have plenty of time logged in doubles. After finishing fourth in the Southwest Prairie Conference last season, the Wildcats are looking to compete even more, which Bayer believes will happen. The 32nd-year coach said: “It’s always a goal to win conference [and] advance as many people out of the sectional to the state tournament.”
Plainfield East
Coach: Dominic Del Rosario
Top returners: Sanjay Rajan, sr.; Govindarajan Prithivirajan, sr; Logan Hensley, so.; Brock VanderTuuk, jr.
Key newcomer: Elijah Rodney, fr.
Worth noting: The Bengals won double-digit duals last year and are looking to do so once again in Del Rosario’s eighth season at the helm. Del Rosario said: “We had some injuries last year that hampered our chances to make a run at conference, but we have a tough squad this season.”
Plainfield North
Coach: Jim Walter
2024 record: 10-7
Top returners: Gavin Galias, sr.; Alex Gaull, sr.; Reed Song, jr.
Key newcomers: Yesh Nagelli, so.; Nikhil Ganesan, jr.
Worth noting: The Tigers finished second in the Southwest Prairie Conference last season and return some experience with Galias (singles), Gaull (singles) and Song (doubles). Unfortunately, virtually everyone else from last year is gone. Walter has been coaching the team since 2005 and expressed excitement for Nagelli and Ganesan, although he’s unsure what spots they’ll be at. Wlater added: “This year’s Tiger tennis team will have a new look with [Gaull] moving from doubles to singles along with filling in many spots open from graduating 75% of our lineup from last season. We could play for a period of time with multiple lineup changes while we figure things out.”
Plainfield South
Coach: Tom Perrin
2024 record: 0-15
Top returners: Nick Chance, sr.; Jonah Powell, sr.; Shivam Goswami, sr.
Worth noting: It was a rough season for the Cougars, but they’re moving along in a positive direction. Powell brings a great deal of athleticism as a golfer, bowler and tennis player. Perrin enters year No. 3 with the Cougars. He said: “We’re optimistic that we can win some matches as a team this year, which would be an improvement over the past two seasons. ... I think we are making progress as a program and becoming more competitive.”
Romeoville
Coach: George Joyce
Top returners: JR Vidad, jr.; Aidan Gagnon, sr.
Key newcomer: Osvaldo Cardenas, jr.
Worth noting: This is Joyce’s 23rd year coaching the Spartans, and he likes the group he has for 2025. Vidad played the first singles spot last year while Gagnon was first doubles. Cardenas is moving up to varsity after a runner-up finish in conference last year at the JV doubles spot. Joyce said: “The Romeoville boys tennis team only lost one player from last year’s team to graduation, so the core lineup is almost entirely intact. With another year of varsity level experience, the Spartans are looking to start moving up in the league standings.”