Boys tennis: Lemont takes team title at 2024 Steelmen Invitational

JOLIET – Saturday was cloudy, windy and cold all day long. Naturally, it was a perfect day for boys tennis in Joliet.

The Steelmen Invite hosted by Joliet Township took place with competitions on the campuses of Joliet Catholic and Joliet West. Lemont claimed the team championship. Hononegah and the host Steelmen tied for second.

At No. 1 doubles, Lemont’s duo of Rena Saraiya and Sean Svoboda claimed the title, first defeating LWW’s Joey Wakefield and Donovan Ring 6-1, 6-2. Ryan Richter/Micah Ruland of Plainfield Central took down Jonah Powell/Shivam Goswami of Plainfield South 7-5, 6-1. Christian Sweis and Adrian Smrek of Oak Lawn then defeated David Contreras and Dimitris Kourtidis of Joliet Township 6-4, 7-5. The first round closed with Grant White and Max Wang of Hononegah beating Ryan Streitz and Matt Sojka of JCA 7-5, 6-3.

Saraiya and Svoboda then bested Central 6-1, 6-0, while Oak Lawn took down Hononegah 6-4, 2-6, 10-8. Lemont won the title 6-1, 6-1. Hononegah was victorious in the third place match.

In No. 1 singles, Hononegah’s Braden Monson shocked the field by claiming the title.

Top-seeded Paul Coffey of Joliet Township opened things up with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Finn O’Neil of LWW, while Monson took down Milan Modhera of Plainfield Central. Lemont’s Ethan Bator bested Alfonso Mares of Oak Lawn 6-1, 6-1. The first round closed with JCA’s Andy Munoz taking down Plainfield South’s Nick Chance 6-0, 6-3.

The second round saw Monson upset Coffey 6-1, 6-2 and Bator take down Munoz 6-2, 6-4. Monson scored a 6-0, 6-2 championship win over Bator, the only bracket Lemont didn’t take home a plaque in. Munoz beat Coffey in the third-place match 6-1, 6-4.

No. 2 doubles started with Aditya Oberai and Vikram Oberai of Lemont doing battle with Connor Neville and Declan Wagner of Joliet Catholic. Lemont triumphed 6-1, 1-6 (10-7) to face the winner of Tomas Lee/Joshua Boeringa of Lincoln-Way West and Nate Imig/Matt Leto of Plainfield Central. Lee and Boeringa won 3-6, 6-2 (10-6).

On the flip side, Alex Giffod and Carter Plesic of Hononegah took a victory over Oak Lawn’s Kamil Schab and Sam Bergamo 3-6, 6-3 (13-11). Christian Alexander and Joseph O’Brien of Joliet Township defeated Brody Castleman and Sergio Martinez of Plainfield South in the final opening-round match.

Hononegah defeated the hosts 6-0, 6-3, while Lemont downed Lincoln-Way West 6-1, 6-0 to set up the title match. Lemont’s Oberais won that title 6-0, 6-2. LWW defeated Joliet Township 6-1, 6-0 for third.

At No. 2 singles, Lemont’s Sho Muradov claimed the championship.

Muradov kicked the bracket off with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Josh Schwertha of Lincoln-Way West. Isaac Bayas of Oak Lawn followed that up with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Arman DeAlba of Plainfield South before JCA’s Eli Zelinski bested Landon McKinney of Hononegah. Joliet Township’s Aaron Strong closed out the opening round with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Linus Yuan of Plainfield Central.

In round two, Muradov swept Bayas 6-0, 6-0, and Strong swept Zelinski by the same score. Muradov won the championship 6-1, 6-0. Bayas won the third-place matchup.

The No. 3 doubles bracket began with Joliet Township’s Jayden Diggs and Michael Skole taking on Collin Swank and Landon Bosse. Township took that contest 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. Liam Fitzgerald and Jonah Mburu of Plainfield Central vs. Gabe Gaidelis and Ed Smykowski of Oak Lawn ended up being a 6-2, 6-4 win for Plainfield Central.

On the other side of the bracket, Xander Keating/Cormac Wagner of JCA took on Thomas Lee and Joshua Boeringa of Lincoln-Way West, with LWW coming out on top 6-0, 6-3. Krystian Bawiec and Casey Treanor of Lemont took on Karl Hellinga and Lukas Wis of Hononegah in the other match, with Lemont coming out on top 6-0, 6-2.

After Lemont downed LWW and Plainfield Central downed Joliet Township, Lemont took home the title 6-3, 6-2. LWW bested Joliet Township for third place 6-3, 6-1.