There are 29 Southland players who’ll be spread across the north and northwest suburbs in the boys state tennis final.
Just two of them, though, are seeded in the top 32.
Marian Catholic’s Kyle Scheffers, who last week dominated the Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional, was seeded in the 9-16 bracket while Lemont’s Nick Urban, who finished third in the Joliet West Sectional, had an impressive enough body of work to earn a seeding in the 17-32 group.
The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday.
Scheffers tasted success as a freshman when he and partner Mitch Zavesky won their first three doubles matches before dropping matches in the fourth round of championship play and the sixth round of consolation play. The two made it to the consolation quarterfinals in 2012 and went 6-2 in state play.
A year ago, Scheffers competed in singles in the postseason and won his first two matches but finished 3-2. Both losses were three-set defeats.
With 18 state matches under his belt, the Trinity College (Conn.)-bound Scheffers won’t be in awe of the surroundings this year.
“I don’t really feel any pressure,” he said. “This is supposed to be the fun year. The first three years are where I felt the most pressure. I was building up and looking ahead. Now I can enjoy it a little more.
“I’m looking forward to putting the south suburbs on the Illinois state map a little bit. It is dominated by the Hinsdales and the New Triers. Hopefully, I can make a name for myself as well.”
Urban also has plenty of state experience, finishing 3-2 and reaching the fourth round consolation bracket as a freshman and going 3-2 and making the fifth round consolation bracket last year.
