York Dukes

AT A GLANCE
Conference West Suburban Silver
Home course Maple Meadows, 272 S. Addison Road
Last season 5th at WSS meet, 7th at regionals
Coach Jim Borel

Top returners
Andy Wethekam    sr.
Dan Borel    jr.
Jake Wilms    jr.

Promising newcomers
Jack Gunst    so.
Kevin Pankau    jr.
Danny Perrino    jr.

KEY MEETS
Sept. 30 at Fenton Invite
Sept. 9 vs. Hinsdale Central
Sept. 16 vs. Lyons Township
Sept. 30 at WSC meet

OUTLOOK
Consistency is the word to best describe the Dukes, who will not blow anybody out of the water, but will be in every match they play.

Wethekam — a two-time sectional qualifier and the team’s stroke average leader the last two seasons — gives the Dukes a legitimate No. 1 player, while the rest of the lineup has top-player potential.

“He could be one of the best players in the state,” coach Borel said of Wethekam. “He is a solid player. He had a some nice scores in some tournaments over the summer and was in the 70s throughout tryouts.
“He is our only senior. He’s a good leader and I’m excited for him to be our captain.”

Besides Wethekam, Dan Borel — coach Borel’s son, Wilms and Gunst come into the season as the top four. Borel shot an even-par 70 during tryouts at Maple Meadows, Wilms has continued to work on his game and coach Borel said Gunst very rarely shoots over 83. Pankau and Perrino scored in the mid-80s during tryouts.

Coach Borel figures to be a team shooting between 310-320. The Dukes had a strong start to the season, firing a 309 on Monday to take third at the Naperville Central Invite at Naperbrook. Wethekam was second overall with a 73.

Juniors Matt Boria (his dad, Phil, was a coach at Hinsdale Central), Joe Ross, Eddie O’Connor and Spencer Martin are other players who could find themselves in the mix.

“Our top four are pretty solid,” coach Borel said. “But we have plenty of others who can take the pressure off them with a nice round.
“We could give some people a scare,” he added. “We are not going to back down from anybody. We have a chance to do some good things if we can all put it together on the same day.”

As always, the Dukes play against some of the state’s best in the highly-competitive West Suburban Silver. Once again Hinsdale Central highlights the conference, while Lyons Township and Glenbard West are other top contenders.

“In our conference it’s always an uphill battle,” said Borel, “but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to compete. And that’s what we’ll do.
“I’m excited about our team. I know we will be competitive and I’m excited about our potential.”

The Dukes also have a new assistant coach this season in Trent Martin, a former York standout golfer and PGA teaching professional at Blackberry Oaks in Bristol.

Glenbard East Rams

AT A GLANCE
Conference DuPage Valley Conference
Home course Village Links, 485 Winchell Way, Glen Ellyn
Last season 9th at regionals
Coach Chris Weinke

Top returners
Jake Waas    jr.
Conner Burke    sr.
Adam Kelly    sr.

Promising newcomers
Mark Hogan    jr.
Derek Danylevsky    jr.
John Lodewyck    jr.

KEY MEETS
Aug. 28 Ram Scramble
Sept. 6 at Willowbrook Invite
Sept. 20 at Dundee-Crown Invite

OUTLOOK
Waas, a returning all-DVC player, leads the way on a Rams’ squad hoping for a strong showing after a disappointing end at regionals last fall.

It starts with Waas, a three-year varsity player who has big-time player capability.

“He’s going to be our success story this year and he’s definitely a kid that can qualify for state,” Weinke said. “He has grown a lot from his freshman year to his year — just his mental game has grown. He is able to handle things much better and not get hung up so much on one mistake.”

Joining Waas as returning golfers with experience are Kelly, who scored for the Rams at regionals last year, and Burke.

Hogan, Danylevsky and Lodewyck are three incoming juniors looking to make an impact, while Weinke is also looking for seniors Matt Krause, Bryan Dvorak, and Patrick Gill to bring positive contributions.

“The main thing is we want to see improvement from match to match,” Weinke said. “We want to learn from our mistakes, manage the course better and hopefully be able to put up some good scores.”

The Rams have their hands full in a talented DVC, led by Naperville Central, Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton North and West Chicago.

“Our conference is loaded,” Weinke said. “If we can finish middle of the pack I would consider that a success.”

The Rams opened the season with a ninth-place finish at the Naperville Central Invite on Monday, shooting a 339.

Willowbrook Warriors

AT A GLANCE
Conference West Suburban Gold
Home course Sugar Creek, 500 E. Van Buren, Villa Park
Last season T-3rd in WSG, 8th at regionals
Coach Joe Scahill

Top returners
Tyler Klaassen    sr.
Troy Hurdelbrink    jr.
Drew Dahl    jr.
Joe Icano    sr.

Promising newcomers
Colton Severino    sr.
Paul Putong    sr.
Alex Gasiamis    sr.
Andy Voelker    jr.

KEY MEETS
Sept. 6 Willowbrook Invite
Sept. 9 vs. Downers South
Sept. 16 vs. Hinsdale South

OUTLOOK
A strong core of top-four golfers and pretty solid top-eight overall puts the Warriors in a pretty good position heading into the 2008 season.

Klaassen returns as the team’s No. 1 golfer, who is coming off a broken finger injury but will be in the lineup to start the season. Hurdelbrink and Dahl were consistently the team’s No. 3 and 4 players last fall, while Icano returns after a full varsity season.

“One through four — Tyler, Troy, Drew and Joe — their scores are going to count most every match,” Scahill said. “Hopefully if they don’t, some other guys will be able to have a good round like we did last year.”

Putong is one guy who could be counted on after playing about half the varsity season in 2007. Another boost could be Gasiamis, who is back after taking a few seasons off from golf and is a big hitter off the tee.

“I’m looking forward to this season,” Scahill said. “They know what they have to do. I anticipate some good scores.”

The Warriors would like to have a better showing at the conference tournament then they did last season. Scahill is hoping for a top-three finish, knowing the battle is likely to be against Downers Grove South and Hinsdale South.

Montini Broncos

AT A GLANCE
Conference Suburban Catholic
Home course Willowcrest
Last season 4th at Timothy Christian Class 2A regional
Coach Dave Lyons (4th year)

Top returners
Anthony Blashewski    sr.
Zach Brash    sr.
Eric Lederman    so.

Promising newcomer
Shane Quinlan    fr.

KEY MEETS
Aug. 30 at Fenton Invite
Sept. 6 at Batavia Invite
Sept. 13 at ACC Invite

OUTLOOK
Blashewski could be a force to be reckoned with this fall after placing 42nd at the Class 2A state meet a year go. The senior advanced out of the Timothy Christian regional and the Wheaton Academy sectional and will be looking for a repeat performance this time around with a slightly higher state finish the ultimate goal.

“I expect him to do that,” Lyons said. “The goal is to be in the top-20. He was 42nd last year. There is no reason to think he can’t get in the top-20. He is immensely talented. Now it is just about going out and playing. He is just gifted.”

Brash and Lederman are second and third on the depth chart respectively while the rest of the line-up is still being ironed out. Expect new faces to emerge mid-season.

“We will have to wait and see,” the coach said. “But I am optimistic. With Anthony, he should only get better. But we have a lot of question marks as far as depth. The top of the line-up is looking strong. We just need some newer kids to come up and perform. And I think the kids coming up are solid. I am more optimistic than last year.
“We need that depth. The top of the line-up can compete with the rest of the teams in the conference. But depth will win us those swing matches.”

While being competitive in the Suburban Catholic Conference is always a goal, Montini could be poised to qualify for a sectional as a team. A year ago, the Broncos finished fourth in the regional, just three strokes out of second-place.

Immaculate Conception Knights
AT A GLANCE
Conference Suburban Catholic
Home course Maple Meadows
Last season 4th at the Class A Somonauk regional
Coach Don Sujack (1st year)

Top returners
Tommy Hart    jr.
Patrick Haggerty    so.
Chris Cheng    jr.

KEY MEETS
Sept. 11 at Driscoll
Sept. 17 vs. Montini
Sept. 30 at SCC meet at Highlands in Elgin

OUTLOOK
Sujack takes over the program after five years as an assistant coach to Mike Conroy. He inherits a talented squad that envisions a successful 2008 campaign.

Hart is the team’s No. 1 golfer after advancing out of the Somonauk Class 1A regional last fall and could be a state qualifier this time around. Haggerty is also a strong bet for the sectional while Cheng rounds out the top three.

“Between Tommy, Pat and Chris,” Sujack said, “we have three young men that will compete to be the medalist in every match we play."

Seniors Matt Biggio and Brandon Mola, junior Nick Panicola and sophomore Matt Gaughan add depth for the Knights, who are looking to move on to sectionals as a team after finishing seven strokes off the pace in ‘07. A key for the squad will be whether they fall into Class 1A or 2A in the three-class system for the postseason.

“The top three are going to be solid throughout the year,” the coach said. “And with the next four, if they develop this year as much as they did last year, we should be able to accomplish the goals we have.
“We want to be competitive in the conference; it is a strong conference. And we’d certainly like to advance as a team to sectionals. If we don’t do that, then I haven’t done my job. We are a better team than last year and we almost did it then. We also have some individuals whose expectations are of advancing downstate.”

Timothy Christian Trojans

AT A GLANCE
Conference Private School League
Home course Oak Brook Golf Club
Last season 3rd in PSL, 8-4 overall, 2nd at Timothy Christian Regional, 7th at Wheaton Academy Sectional
Coach Tom Day (14th year)

Top returners
Andrew Woodhull    sr.
Thomas Huiner    sr.
Trevor Gorman    jr.
Kyle Venhousen    sr.

Promising newcomers
Mike Hennel    fr.
Matt Robinson    fr.

KEY MEET
Sept. 13 at Aurora Christian Catholic Invitational

OUTLOOK
Prior to the start of this 2008 season, the IHSA multiplier played in the favor of Timothy Christian. The Trojans’ number was tweaked and now they have been moved from Class 2A to Class 1A.

This does nothing but give head coach Tom Day reason to believe that his team could finish in the top 10 at the state tournament. Leading the way for TC will be senior Andrew Woodhull, who came in 42nd place at the 2007 state tournament after posting a two-round 18-over-par.

Woodhull recently shot a 3-under-par at the Trojans’ try-outs at Oak Brook Golf Club.

“I have high hopes for Andrew [Woodhull],” Day said. “The sky is the limit for him. I look for him to qualify for state.”

Although TC features a handful of upperclassmen, the varsity experience is still not there. This could be due to the fact that David Stremler, who came in fifth place at the last year’s sectional has graduated. However, with talented incoming freshmen Mike Hennel and Matt Robinson joining the mix, the Trojans could be a dangerous team by the time of the regional.