Naperville Central captured its first trophy Saturday by racking up 12 points to tie Fremd for second place at the state finals at Eastern Illinois University.
Bolstered by an offense that's continuing to find its way and a solid effort from pitcher senior Jack Foote, ninth-ranked Naperville Central rolled to a 11-1 win in five innings over Stevenson.
Fresh off conference titles and Top 16 state showings in 2012, Neuqua Valley, Benet and Naperville Central headline a loaded field of Naperville and Aurora tennis teams eager for another strong run on the courts this spring.
Seeing a pair of leads go by the wayside, sixth-ranked Naperville Central persevered by pulling out a 4-3 victory in eight innings over No. 22 Clemente Saturday in Naperville.
Naperville Central senior lefty Jeff Schank proved to be too much for the Waubonsie Valley offense to handle, throwing five scoreless innings and fanning nine while scattering three hits and walking just one in a 7-0 shutout win.
Fenwick, which won its fourth state title in five years last season, returns most of its starters as it preps for a repeat bid. Check out Paul Johnson's lists of top girls water polo teams and athletes here.
Eric Curia scored eight goals, powering Naperville North past Lockport 16-11 on Tuesday. Curia, who netted a progam-record 162 goals last season, has led the Huskies to a 9-1 start this spring.
Brooks Nverly (14 assists) and Anthony Puccini (eight kills) powered Downers North to a season-opening 25-23, 25-20 win over Naperville Central on Monday.
With eight seniors returning who have all experienced heavy playing time from a 27-win team last season, Naperville Central is poised for another deep postseason run.
T.F. South returns six state qualifiers and is ranked No. 1 in the Sun-Times badminton rankings. Here is a full list of the top 10 teams and top individuals for this season.
Pat McInerney scored 18 of his 19 points in the first half as host Benet rolled to a 62-36 Class 4A regional title victory over Naperville Central on Friday.