Northwest Herald 2021 Boys Tennis All-Area Team

FIRST TEAM

Kyle McNally, Jacobs, so.

McNally burst onto the boys tennis scene, going 49-4 and finishing with the most wins in the state. McNally earned a sectional championship with a 6-3, 6-0 win over teammate Thomas Nelson. The two met again at state, with Nelson getting a two-set win for fifth place. At the FVC Meet, McNally won the No. 2 singles title. He was 6-2 at state.

Thomas Nelson, Jacobs, jr.

Nelson, the 2021 Northwest Herald Boys Tennis Player of the Year, finished 42-7 and beat McNally, 6-4, 6-1, in the fifth-place match at the Class 2A state tournament, as the Golden Eagles duo became the first state medalists in program history. Nelson earned the FVC No. 1 singles championship with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Crystal Lake South’s Jackson Schuetzle. Nelson finished 7-1 at state.

Jackson Schuetzle, Crystal Lake South, jr.

Schuetzle ended the season with a 32-5 record, including a 4-1 run at the Class 1A state meet that earned him a third-place finish as a No. 4 seed, the first state medalist for South since 2003. In addition to taking second in the No. 1 singles bracket at the FVC Meet, the Gators junior took second at the Class 1A Crystal Lake South Sectional. Schuetzle went 5-1 at state, losing to Centennial’s Max Braun, 6-4, 6-0, in the semifinals.

Thomas Patel and Andrew Burkey, Huntley, sr./sr.

Patel and Burkey finished runner-up at No. 1 doubles at the FVC Tournament and took second at sectionals, falling both times to Jacobs’ John Kaiser and Justin Cunningham. The Red Raiders’ No. 1 doubles team lost their first match at state but won their next three and finished 3-2.

John Kaiser and Justin Cunningham, Jacobs, sr./jr.

Kaiser and Cunningham captured the No. 1 doubles title at the FVC Tournament with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 win over Huntley’s Patel and Burkey. Kaiser and Cunningham again beat the Raiders’ No. 1 doubles team for the sectional title at the Class 2A Cary-Grove Sectional, this time a 6-1, 6-1 sweep. Kaiser and Cunningham finished 2-2 at the state meet, winning their first match.

Sam Kim and Nate Kim, Prairie Ridge, sr./sr.

The Kim brothers were Class 1A sectional champions with a 6-2, 6-0 sweep over Rockford Christian’s Trevor Beale and Chatham McIlroy. They finished third in the No. 1 doubles bracket at the FVC Meet with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Crystal Lake Central’s Ben Weichman and Brandon Oconer. The Kims dropped their first match at state and finished 3-2.

Brad Arnold and Riley Ellegood, Woodstock, sr./sr.

Arnold and Ellegood played most of the season at singles, with Ellegood winning the No. 1 singles title at the KRC Meet, and Arnold taking second at No. 2 singles. The two played doubles near the end of the season and excelled there, going 8-2 and earning the Class 1A sectional doubles title with a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 win over Wauconda’s Dylan Brannick and Memphis Gallego, becoming Woodstock’s first sectional champions since 1986, according to Woodstock coach Jake Porter. They won their first match at state, finishing 1-2.

SECOND TEAM

Saarav Desai, Huntley, sr.

Logan Wasilk, Crystal Lake Central, so.

Luke Welker, Burlington Central, jr.

Matt Grubbs and Stan Kurtek, Huntley, jr./sr.

Daniru Dharmaratne and Ben Hein, Huntley, sr./so.

Jed Sia and Justin Brzeski, Jacobs, jr./jr.

Brad Haisler and Nick Haisler, Prairie Ridge, jr./jr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Nick Belgrave and Justin Schoepke, Cary-Grove, sr./sr.

Brandon Burtschi and Brandon Poe, Cary-Grove, jr.,/sr.

Nolan Frey, Prairie Ridge, so.

Saif Karim, Prairie Ridge, sr.

Sam Kedzior, Cary-Grove, jr.

Cole Lanci and Jason Burg, Woodstock North, jr./jr.

Noah Marrano, Cary-Grove, fr.

Ethan Ormsby, Prairie Ridge, fr.

Jason Packard, Woodstock North, sr.

Ethen Schock, Crystal Lake South, jr.

Connor Trepanier, Richmond-Burton, fr.

Jacob Trepanier, Richmond-Burton, fr.

Jubin Vettikkatt and Andrew Fulton, Jacobs, sr./sr.

Ben Weichman and Ethan Bass, Crystal Lake Central, jr./jr.