GBN Boys Spring Sports Catch-up

Volleyball

Fresh off a on Friday, the Spartans are feeling good that they can get over the hump and win sectionals this year. GBN has made the sectional final five straight years, but only has one win during that stretch, coming in 2008.

Coach Chris Cooper makes sure his team plays the best teams often. They opened the season with a third place finish in the Buffalo Grove Invite, including a win over preseason No. 1 Wheaton Warrenville South. The following week the Spartans earned sixth at WWS’ Tiger Classic, a result that pleased Cooper.

“Any time you finish in the top eight, if you finish in the gold pool, that’s usually pretty good,” Cooper said. “I feel like we win that (quarterfinal) match against Lincoln-Way East, which was a tough match, if we win that one we’re in the top four and I feel like that’s where we should have been, but I felt like we played pretty good for most of the tournament.”

Senior libero Connor Bolan has done a nice job of anchoring the defense while Patrick Bedford has been the team’s top outside hitter in the early matches. Middle hitter Luke Jacobson stepped up against the Titans, leading GBN with 10 kills.

Cooper said he’s still tinkering with the lineup, trying to figure out who should play where. When things settle down, the coach thinks his team has the pieces to make a trip back to state.

“We have enough to do it,” he said. “It’s just putting it together at the right time. It’s gonna be tough. There’s some good teams in our sectional. New Trier is looking good this year. GBS has got some big kids and has potential to be good. I haven’t seen Maine South yet, but I’m sure Maine South is going to be strong. They always are. It’s gonna be a challenge, but we definitely have the pieces to do it.”

Baseball

First-year coach Dom Savino has GBN winning on the diamond early on. The Spartans beat Savino’s former school, Notre Dame, in the season opener and brought a 7-1 record into Saturday’s action against Conant.

The Spartans had a 3-1 record on a spring break trip to Missouri and picked up lopsided victories over Mid Suburban League opponents Prospect, Wheeling and Buffalo Grove last week. They hope to keep that momentum going when conference play starts next week.

Alex Hermeling, who will pitch at Louisiana-Monroe next spring, and left-hander Sean Thomas will anchor the pitching staff while seniors Charlie Apfelbach and Brett Synek head a deep lineup that has scored double digits in the last four games.

Lacrosse

New Trier in a primetime setting Wednesday night at William Lutz Stadium, but GBN still has a positive outlook on the season.

Losing to the Trevians, who have won the last six state titles, is no shame, but it was still a reality check after opening the season with five straight wins.

"We can take a couple of good things out of tonight, but we got knocked back down to earth," coach Justin Georgacakis told Patch’s Andrew Braverman. "It obviously wasn't the result we were looking for but we can take a gut check out of this and come back to practice and learn."

Goalkeeper Matt Greenfield played well against New Trier, making nine saves, and will be key to the team’s success this season. Senior captain Nathan Kelleher anchors the defense while Ryan Maksimovic and Ryan Merritt will provide most of the offense. After beating Deerfield 18-8 Friday the Spartans are 6-1 and ranked eight in LaxPower.com’s state ratings.

Tennis

The CSL is always rugged in boys tennis and this year should be no exception. Other than facing Deerfield and Highland Park in conference duals, GBN has a loaded schedule that features duals against another three programs that finished top ten in state last year and a slew of invites that will feature top competition.

The Spartans started off their tough schedule on Wednesday with a 5-3 loss at Barrington, which won the Mid Suburban League last year. GBN returns four of the five players who competed at state last year (Brian Levitas, Bill Angel, Tommy Snape and Michael Osher) so an improved performance at the top of the lineup should be expected.

Gymnastics

The season started in February for the Spartan gymnasts meaning they are at the midway point of their season. Coach Ryan Dul is pleased with the progress his team is making and thinks their goals are within reach.

“Every single score that we’ve put up has been higher than our highest score last year so that’s good,” Dul said. “The team goal is to hit 125 three times. By the end of the season I’m thinking we can hopefully hit 130, but these guys really gotta push themselves to do that. That’s what I’d like to see. It’s kind of what I’d expect.”

After flirting with 125 early on, GBN got over the hump against GBS on Thursday, posting a 129.8.

Sophomore Nate Elfant is the team’s lead all-arounder and Dul thinks he can push for state in all-around and individual events. Junior Jared Gimbel is the team’s other all-arounder. Senior Peter Wright was a tenth away from qualifying for state at vault last year and is part of a senior heavy group of event specialists that includes Reed Boyer and Stephen Mysko.

“It just helps having those seniors on the team too who have the experience with those events that can help out the younger guys,” Dul said.

GBN hopes to take third in conference with Highland Park/Deerfield and GBS going for higher scores.

“The bigger picture for us is to beat Niles West, beat Niles North,” Dul said. “If we can do that we will probably be guaranteed third place for conference, which would be nice.”

Track

The outdoor season is only a week old, but coach Matt Purdy said his team is coming off a strong indoor season and hopes they can turn that into some state qualifiers.

Joe Poupard leads the list of candidates.

“Joe Poupard right now is probably our best guy,” Purdy said. “He ran real well at the indoor conference meet. He got second there in the two mile. Looking for real big things from him.”

Football players Nick Freund (sprinter), Armin Batang (long jump and relays) and Mike Ermel (shot put and discus) as well as David Baker (distance runner) also had positive indoor seasons.

Purdy said his team probably has too many holes to take the conference title this spring, but it remains the goal.

“I would love to compete for the top, but obviously for us it’s pushing to that conference meet, getting to that sectional meet and trying to get ourselves getting some guys down state because that is the ultimate goal for us,” he said.

The Spartans host Deerfield and Northside Prep on Tuesday before the meat of the schedule.

“I got some really good kids,” Purdy said. “They work hard. I was just with the distance runners, those guys are fun to be around. That’s what makes the sport fun. It’s a long season, but hanging out with those guys you get to know them pretty well.”

Water Polo

Mark Rebora’s side is a month into its season and they sit 2-3 in CSL play after a 14-10 loss at GBS on Thursday. The Spartans lost a lot from last year’s team that finished second in the CSL and won 20 games. They will have a hard time improving on last year’s sectional semifinal berth with top 15 teams New Trier, Loyola and GBS in their sectional, but the young Spartans hope to have solidified their team by the time playoffs roll around.

Senior Matt Bacinich, who competed at state during the swim season, looks to lead the way offensively, but the Spartans need more scoring support. Nick Goodspeed, who had three goals against GBS, is a candidate to help relieve the pressure on Bacinich.