Glenbard West Hilltoppers

AT A GLANCE
Conference West Suburban Silver
Home course Village Links of Glen Ellyn, 485 Winchell Way, Glen Ellyn
Last year’s results Two sectional qualifiers
Coach Paul Hezlett

Top returners
Bobby Kerr                    sr.
Connor McMahon        sr.

Promising newcomers
Eric Boockford              jr.
Kyle Kochevar              fr.
Trevor Tolouse             fr.
Mike Seletta   

KEY MEETS
Sept. 21      at Woodstock Invite
Sept. 27      at District 87 Tournament
Sept. 30      at West Suburban Silver Tournament
Oct. 4           at Lark Park Invite

OUTLOOK
Sectional qualifiers Shane Bryant and Leo Karris are gone but the return of three seniors and the presence of some talented underclassmen still have West poised for a strong season.

“Two of the three seniors have played four years and played in tournaments, and we’ve got some freshmen who came out and are playing really well,” Hezlett said. “We’ve got a nice mix up and down the lineup at all levels.”

Kerr and McMahon are the unquestioned leaders, but Hezlett won’t have to rely on only them to card some low scores.

“I really pushed (the guys) to get into some tournaments, to get away from competing just at the Village Links, and for the most part they did,” Hezlett said. “That’s good. It puts them in some pressure situations.”

In the WSS, the Hilltoppers have to contend with a talented Hinsdale Central team as well as Lyons Township and York for the title. Not only does the WSS present a challenge, but tournaments at Bloomington (Aug. 19 to start the season), Woodstock, Batavia, Dundee-Crown and Lake Park ensure they will have seen the best the area has to offer before the postseason begins.

“It’s going to be a fun year,” Hezlett said.
 

Glenbard South Raiders

AT A GLANCE
Conference Western Sun
Home courses Village Links of Glen Ellyn, 485 Winchell Way, Glen Ellyn; Cantigny Golf Course, 27W270 Mack Road, Wheaton
Last year’s results 8-4 (fourth in Western Sun Conference)
Coach Scott Iliff, 29th season

Top returners
Matt Johnson            sr.
Mitch McNeilly          jr.
Jake Oakes               sr.
Tony Scotellaro        sr.

Promising newcomers
Blake Barile                     jr.
Matt Cacciato                  jr.
Matt Cosenza                  jr.
Vincent McPherson        jr.
Josh Seaver                     jr.
Josh Turner                     so.

KEY MEETS
Aug. 22      at Lemont Invite
Sept. 6       at Batavia Invite
Sept. 27     at District 87 Tournament
Oct. 1          at Western Sun Conference Tournament

OUTLOOK
Four golfers with plenty of experience return to a squad with a WSC title in its sights. Add a promising sophomore and juniors Cacciato and Cosenza (who both shot well during tryouts), and Iliff feels his top-8 can hang with anyone.

“The team is shaping up fairly well,” the coach said. “We have a pretty good group. We lost some key seniors, but that’s always the case. The juniors and seniors did get quite a bit of experience last year.”

Several golfers didn’t play as many summer tournaments as Iliff would have liked, yet he feels this group will handle the pressure.

While the Raiders don’t have a Kenny Wittenberg or Jason Pinns (both Division I golfers) of years past, but they have balanced scoring. If one player suffers a bad round, Iliff envisions other players picking up the slack.

That becomes crucial when the Raiders hit conference play. Batavia and Geneva had young aces last year and return plenty of sharp shooters. However, Iliff knows the Raiders can contend for the Western Sun. They finished fourth at the tournament last year, one stroke out of third and three strokes out of first place.

“We always shoot for the championship,” Iliff said. “Our conference is a very strong golf conference, but we’ve got good talent, a good group of kids. We’re forward to this year.”
 

St. Francis Spartans

AT A GLANCE
Conference Suburban Catholic
Home course Arrowhead Golf Club, 26W151 Butterfield Road, Wheaton
Last year’s results 1st in Timothy Christian regional, 3rd at Wheaton Academy sectional
Coach Pat Murphy (1st year)

Top returners
Mike Segneri            sr.
Matt Massa               sr.
Keegen O’Rahilly    jr.

KEY MEETS
Sept 6      at Lockport Invitational
Sept 13    at ACC Invitational
Sept 20    at Mundelein Invitational

OUTLOOK
Under first-year head coach Murphy, the Spartans head into 2008 with a deep roster of 10, broken down equally between five seniors and five juniors. The group is led by Segniri, who was a state qualifier last fall in Class 2A after carding an 80 at the Wheaton Academy sectional. The now senior went on to finish 58th at the state meet.

Massa and O’Rahilly were also key contributors on last year’s squad and should be even better this time around.

“I am very optimistic; we’d like to be very competitive in the conference,” Murphy said. “They have good attitudes and they are really good kids. They are a really great group of young men and I know they will be successful this season based on the personalities of the kids.”

Following the top three is a group of players who could be swapping spots all season long.

“We do have good depth,” the coach added. “We pretty much go seven or eight deep. We are not really dependent on any one set of guys. We have a couple of outstanding players and then five or six players who can be contributors at any time.”
 

Wheaton North Falcons

AT A GLANCE
Conference DuPage Valley
Home course Arrowhead Golf Course, 26W151 Butterfield Rd., Wheaton
Last year’s results Two sectional qualifiers, one state qualifier
Coach Mike Pribaz, 1st season

Top returners
Jack Ahern        sr.
Pat Corcoran    sr.
Matt Ward          sr.

Promising newcomers
Erik Simon                      jr.
Robbie Stewart             sr.
Richie Van Voorhies    so.

KEY MEETS
Sept. 6       at Willowbrook Invite
Sept. 15    at Lake Park Invite
Sept. 25    at Hinsdale Central
Oct. 1         at DuPage Valley Tournament

OUTLOOK
Sectional qualifiers Travis Otto and Brett Kirchhofer are gone but returning seniors provide a solid foundation for success.

“We’ve got some pretty good seniors and as they go, we go,” Pribaz said. “We’re going to see how deep we are behind them, but we know those seniors are going to lead us.”

Ahern didn’t take any time off, refining his swing, playing in tournaments and taking lessons. Last year’s experience and practice in the interim should have him shooting low scores.

Corcoran and Ward should be in the same boat, having been steady shooters last season.
With a light junior class, senior leadership will be very important as a handful of talented sophomores and freshmen learn the ropes.

“They’re going to set an example for everybody coming up,” Pribaz said of his seniors.

The younger golfers will get a trial by fire in the competitive DVC. Throw in nonconference duals against Batavia and Hinsdale Central (both contenders in their own conferences), two Lake Park invites and the Wheaton Classic in late September, and the Falcons will be battled tested once the postseason rolls around.

“It seems like the kids buckled down over the summer and worked hard, which when you get to August means they should be ready to go,” Pribaz said. “I really expect to have a nice year but it also feels like we’re building for the future, and that’s what excites us.”

Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers

AT A GLANCE
Conference DuPage Valley
Home course Arrowhead Golf Club, 26W151 Butterfield Road, Wheaton
Last year’s results third in the conference; ninth at the Class 3A Geneva regional
Coach Jimmy Selleck (ninth season)

Top returners
Steve Skurla          sr.
Shawn Plepel        sr.
Adam Calloway     sr.

Promising newcomer
Jason Plepel         so.

KEY MEETS
Aug. 30     at Fenton Invitational
Sept 6       at Batavia Invitational
Sept 27     at Lake Park Invitational
Oct. 1         at DVC Tournament

OUTLOOK
Wheaton Warrenville South is determined to overcome a disappointing end to last season. The Tigers entered the DVC tournament in a three-way tie for first with West Aurora and Naperville North, only to have hopes dashed on the inward nine.

“We had a chance to win conference,” Selleck said.

The Tigers had a poor showing at the regional as well, but the new season has already kicked off in grand fashion: behind the sterling one-under-par 70 from champion Skurla, WWS won the Larkin tournament Monday in Elgin. All six players were under 80, and Skurla is poised to redeem himself for a sub-par postseason tournament last fall.

“Steve is focused and ready to begin the year,” Selleck said. “It will be a typical year in the DVC — very competitive. The (regional) is always (extremely difficult).”