Riverside Brookfield High School boys tennis player Ian Dimaano has been varsity No. 1 doubles the past two seasons with seniors — Noah Lenaghan last year and older brother Ethan in 2022.
“Freshman year [on junior varsity] I felt like I was really not confident in myself and wouldn’t really know strategy,” Dimaano said.
“As I’ve progressed, I felt connected to the court. It allowed me to be more confident. And even if I make mistakes, I learn from them.”
Dimaano is now the veteran of a lineup with fellow seniors like Cameron Ramos and Finnegan Wambay and youth like freshmen Humza Ahmad and Linden Leander at No. 1 doubles.
Seniors Maksymilain Dzwonowski, Alexander Knezevic and Quentin Rohner also return to the varsity roster, which has four sophomores and three freshmen.
The Bulldogs lost their opener 6-1 at Morton, March 15.
“[Our key is] focusing on improving and building team bonding since we are young and have several years together,” RBHS coach Sam Weiss said.
“We are young with a lot of potential. We just need more match experience. [Our goals are] build confidence and prioritize improving long term.”
At last year’s Class 2A York Sectional, the doubles teams of Dimaano and Lenaghan and Ramos and graduated Santiago Herrera both won one match and reached the quarterfinals, one victory from state berths. Both lost 6-0, 6-0 to the eventual first- and second-place finishers. Wambay lost his singles match.
During the regular season, Dimaano and Wambay will play No. 1 and 2 singles and Ramos No. 2 doubles with senior Aidan Osheroff.
“Some of us are kind of new to the team. Others have had a lot of experience so having both of those combined will allow for people to do better in general with their skills,” Dimaano said. “With my experience, I really want to help [varsity newcomers] learn tennis etiquette and some strategies to use during matches. If this doesn’t work, maybe try something else.”
Lyons Township boys tennis
Senior Mason Mazzone has gone to the state meet three times, each with a different doubles partner.
The expected final trip may be different again, or different by being the same.
Mazzone and senior Jack McLane have high hopes after finishing among the top 12 in state with a 3-2 record to finish 19-5 overall.
However, Mazzone opened the season Saturday by winning doubles with senior Luke Howell at the Libertyville Invite by going 4-0 for the first-place Lions.
“We definitely have two solid doubles teams,” Mazzone said.
“I’m definitely playing doubles [if I reach state] because I’m just not a great singles player. Either [Luke] or Jack, they’re both very similar, so it’ll be interesting.”
Howell and sophomore Shay Sweigard also return from the 2023 state lineup of two doubles and singles qualifiers in winning the York Sectional. Clint Buetikofer is the new head coach after taking over for the girls this past fall.
Also at the Libertyville Invite, McLane and sophomore Rohan Nagale were third and ninth in singles and Sweigard and senior George Ross were fifth in doubles. All had 3-1 records.
Others in the lineup includes seniors Jude Short in doubles and George Atseff in doubles or singles.
“This year, I feel like it’s one of the best teams I’ve been on. Everyone coming back has a lot of experience,” McLane said.
“Making the final destination [at 2023 state] was a huge success. Now we know what it’s like to be there with the crowd and just go out there and compete.”
At state, Sweigard (18-11) was 2-2 in singles with two backdraw victories. Howell and graduated Patrick Adams (17-10) were 1-2 in doubles.
Mazzone was top-24 at 2023 state and 3-2 with Will Carroll and top-16 with Owen O’Connor in 2021 with a 4-2 record. McLane was 2-2 at state singles as a sophomore.
The Lions hope to improve upon tying for 10th at state (12 points) but advancing all four entries again will be a challenge.
Defending state champion Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove South and Downers Grove North are among sectional foes.
“If we get everyone to state, we could definitely finish top 10, hopefully better than that,” Mazzone said.
