In the long, illustrious history of the Deerfield tennis program, there had never been a moment equal to what occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, May 28.
On court three at the Thomas J. Pitchford Tennis Complex at Hersey, the Warriors’ doubles team of Chris Casati and Niko Wasilewicz was playing in the state championship match. Two courts over, senior Vuk Budic competed for the singles title.
“We’ve never had two playing in these matches on the final day,” Warriors coach Josh Leighton said.
Just minutes after 2 p.m., Budic, a transfer from Ireland who came to Deerfield in January, dispatched of New Trier senior Scott Bickel 6-2, 6-1 to win the state title. Fans nearby let out a loud collective roar.
Meanwhile, Casati and Wasilewicz were two hours into a three-set marathon final against Hinsdale Central’s Michael Czlonka and Nick Calzolano. Playing for their second consecutive state championship, Casati and Wasilewicz could not close a Deerfield title sweep. The pair fell in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (4).
“At the end of the day, it was up for grabs, back and forth,” Casati said. “In the end, they took it more than us. They deserved it.”
Deerfield was the only school to have a singles player and doubles team make it into the semifinals. The first-place and runner-up result propelled Deerfield to a third-place team finish (30 points), behind runner-up Hinsdale Central (31) and champion New Trier (40).
This season was a fluid one for the Warriors. The plan before the season was to split up Casati and Wasilewicz and have them play singles. But Budic’s arrival forced Leighton to be nimble with his lineup, and through the first month of the season, he had not decided on a top singles or doubles team.
“When Vuk came, we knew we had three exceptional guys,” Leighton said. “I told them, ‘As the season goes on, we will figure this out.’ And we did.”
By the time of Hersey’s Pitchford 32 Tournament in late April, Casati and Wasilewicz were a pair again and Budic had established himself as a state-title contender. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-handed player, Budic (31-0) can grind out points along the baseline with consistent ground strokes, then end rallies by coming to the net and finishing volleys.
Budic did not drop a set during the three-day state tournament. He survived a challenge from Rolling Meadows senior Mack Galvin in the semifinals, then rolled past Bickel in the finals.
In attendance for Budic’s state title victory was his mother, Zorica Nedovic-Budic, and two older brothers, Stefan and Istok. The brothers’ presence in Chicago was one of the reasons Vuk Budic and his mother moved to Deerfield earlier this year.
“They hadn’t seen me play much the last few years as I was in Ireland,” Budic said. “It’s great they came out on a day like this to see me play tennis, and luckily I won.”
Budic’s victory gave Deerfield its sixth singles state title to go along with three doubles crowns.
Casati and Wasilewicz end their Deerfield career with a state title and runner-up medal.
“They are probably the best doubles team, from beginning to end, Deerfield has ever had,” Leighton said. “For three years, having a team like that, I don’t think anyone competes.”
Highland Park takes fourth at state
Giants coach Steve Rudman believed his squad was capable of an unprecedented program achievement — winning a state championship outright. Highland Park shared a state trophy with Hinsdale Central in 1973.
“To do it with three (tournament entries) rather than four would have been huge,” Rudman said.
Two of Highland Park’s three entries — doubles team David Aizenberg and Brandon Lew and singles player Jacob Edelchik — earned top-six finishes, but their performances were not enough to elevate the Giants to a state crown. They finished fourth with a team score of 28 points.
“This tournament was an opportunity for our program to get a state trophy,” Rudman said. “It was not meant to be.”
The best chance Highland Park had at an individual trophy was with Aizenberg and Lew. Sidelined by a shoulder injury for much of the season, Aizenberg recovered in time to partner with Lew for the Central Suburban North tournament and state series.
Aizenberg, a senior, and Lew, a junior, made it to the state semifinals before losing in straight sets to eventual champions Czlonka and Calzolano of Hinsdale Central 6-2, 6-4.
They recovered to win the third-place match.
“Our coach told us it would be a three-week process,” Lew said. “It was amazing to play with (Aizenberg).”
Junior Jacob Edelchik finished in sixth place in singles. Freshman Jeremy Learner won three matches before bowing out of the tournament.
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @prepspioneer
