Champaign Central boys' tennis takes third in state
May 28—PALATINE — Every point counted for Ezra Bernhard.
Not just in his matches. And not just with the rest of his Champaign Central boys' tennis teammates watching him play on Saturday during the Class 1A state tournament at Palatine High School.
See, the Dunlap boys' tennis team took an avid interest in how Bernhard fared on Saturday.
Because if Bernhard wasn't able to come away with a fifth-place finish in singles, then Dunlap would take a third-place team trophy back home.
Instead, Bernhard and the Maroons did just that.
Bernhard, a standout junior with Central, won both his matches on Saturday to help the Maroons compile 18 points and place third.
Chicago Latin overwhelmingly won its third straight 1A state title with 44 points and Benet was second with 20 points.
But the race for third came down to how Bernhard did. And he passed the test, defeating Scott Anderson of Peoria Notre Dame 7-5, 6-3, in the consolation semifinals and then rallying past Abhay Hiredesai of Normal U-High 6-2, 6-4, in the fifth-place match to give Central its final point.
And Central finished one point better than Dunlap, which placed fourth with 17 points.
"It was funny because Dunlap was rooting as hard as they could for Scott Anderson to beat Ezra," Central coach Scott Davis said with a laugh. "And then they did the same thing when Ezra played Abhay. I get it because we'd be doing the same thing."
Bernhard took his first set against Hiredesai with ease before falling behind 4-0 in the second set. But then it was like nothing happened as Bernhard rattled off the next six points to win the match and post Central's best finish by a singles player at the state tournament since Tom Brunkow placed fifth at the 1957 state tournament.
"I told Ezra, 'You're a magician,'" Davis said. "You made the other team disappear. It was great and amazing to be able to finish that way."
But Central doesn't deliver to its school's trophy case the first boys' tennis state trophy with just Bernhard and his 6-1 showing at the state tournament. Sophomore Abel Vines went 3-2 in singles play, while the doubles teams of junior Elliott Gulley and senior Wade Schacht (2-2) and seniors Sam Balogh and Peter Smith (1-2) all contributed to the team success.
"It was perfect that the seniors were able to end their careers on a high note," Bernhard said, "and it was great to see Coach Davis hoist the trophy, too."
Bernhard will return next season for Central. So will Vines. But the other key cogs on this Central team won't be.
"This group of guys is just really special," Bernhard said. "Apart from tennis, we're friends first, and it really shows."
Meaning Saturday's celebration — the Maroons cranked up some music on the long bus ride home from the Chicago suburbs and ate at one of Davis' favorite restaurants in the Chicago area before arriving back in Champaign on Saturday night — will conjure up plenty of fond recollections in the years ahead.
"I don't think the true magnitude of this team's accomplishments will set in for a while," Bernhard said. "Our team knows that our dynamic is rare, but how things worked out really just puts the cherry on top of a fun and amazing season."
Davis echoed the sentiment from his star.
"It's a group that has bonded so closely," Central's coach said. "That's a big part of why we were able to do what we did."
