Category Archives: Published Work

Tom Wesolowski propels Young to regional title

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Playing against each other for the second time in a week and the fourth in the 2013 season, the Young and Lane boys volleyball teams know pretty much everything there is to know about one another.

But volleyball is still a game of runs. A 14-5 Young surge in the first set turned the tide and propelled it to a 25-20, 25-17 sweep of its rival and the Gordon Tech Regional title Wednesday. The regional championship is the Dolphins’ seventh in a row.

“Volleyball is all about momentum,’’ said Young senior Tom Wesolowski, who had a match-high 21 kills. “A single block, kill, error or ace can change the entire match.’’

That momentum-changing kill came courtesy of  Filip Mietka, who along with Wesolowski, combined for 10 of the 14 points in the decisive run. Wesolowski had 13 of his kills in the first set.

The Dolphins (19-13) carried the momentum into the second set, where a kill by Joe Luzadder broke a 4-4 tie and started a 9-2 run. The spurt would give the Dolphins all they needed. Every time Lane tried to battle back, Young had an answer.

Mietka added eight kills for the Dolphins, while Sean Brzoska had six for Lane.

With the win, the Dolphins advance to the Young sectional, facing St. Patrick at home in a sectional semifinal Friday. St. Patrick, which defeated St. Ignatius in its own regional final 28-26, 25-18, upset the Dolphins last year in the same round, 25-22, 14-25, 25-17.

“We want revenge,’’ Wesolowski said. They knocked us out last year, we can’t let them do that again.

“We want this one bad.’’

Link to story: http://bit.ly/10W1gSP

 

Payton comes back, claims Public League title

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In a matchup of the Public League’s two premier programs, it would only be fitting for the city title match to go three sets, with the league’s best players facing off against each other for the crown. Continue reading →

Payton routs Lincoln Park, goes to finals

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Games are supposed to be all about having fun.

But the goal is not to let having fun affect the way you play. Payton learned that Wednesday in the first game of its sweep of Lincoln Park. The Grizzlies recovered to defeat the Lions 25-16, 25-7 in the Public League semifinals at Northside Wednesday afternoon.

“Sometimes we have too much fun and we lose a little bit of concentration,’’ said Kheperah Ray. “But when we even the two out, you see how good we can be.’’

The dominance Payton can showcase was seen at the end of the first set and throughout the entire second. Payton (22-7) went on a 7-0 run to end the first set and started the second on an 8-1 spurt. The Grizzles included a 10-0 surge midway through the second set, extending their 14-5 lead to 24-5 and putting the match out of reach for Lincoln Park (10-14).

“We started to talk better in the second set,’’ said senior setter/outside hitter Alex Bresler. “We weren’t communicating that well, especially in the first portion of the first set. We changed it up though.’’

“When we talk, we’re a better team,’’ added Ray. “Volleyball is all about communication, knowing what’s going on. When we have it, we’re good.’’

Earl Schultz had nine kills for Payton, while Bresler added eight.

With the win, Payton advances to play Young in the city finals at UIC Friday at 5:30. The meeting is a rematch of last year’s title tilt, which was won by Young. Payton won the teams’ only match this season April 2 in three sets.

Link to story: http://bit.ly/15RoWzu

 

Young squeaks into finals

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Three weeks ago, without two starters, Young fell to Lane in the Northside tourney. Playing without two starters yet again, the Dolphins were looking to avenge that loss, but with  a trip to the city finals on the line.

Young survived, defeating the Indians 25-20, 26-24 in a Public League semifinal Wednesday at Northside.

It wasn’t easy for the Dolphins. Lane led 15-11 halfway through the first set when something clicked for the Dolphins. They rattled off a 14-5 run to end the set, giving them the 25-20 win.

“Once we put a couple balls down, we became more confident,’’ said senior Tom Wesolowski, who had three kills of his game-high 16 kills in the closing run. “We just needed to refocus on what we had to do.’’

Much like the first set, the second started off as a back-and-forth affair. This time the roles were reversed, as Young built a four-point lead and had four match points.

Lane fended off all of the Dolphins’ match points, tying the score at 24-24 on an error by Wesolowski. The senior made up for it on the next two plays, as he put down a kill and served an ace for the win.

With the victory, Young (17-12) advances to play Payton in the city finals at UIC Friday at 5:30. It will be a rematch of last year’s title match, which was won by Young. Payton won the teams’ only match this season, April 2, in three sets.

“It’s a huge rivalry,’’ Wesolowski said. “It’s always Young and Payton, Young and Payton. We know their strengths are Earl [Schultz] and Alex [Bresler]. We can’t shut them down completely, because they’re going to score. But we will have to contain them.’’

Zakir Pasha had six kills for Lane.

Link to story: http://bit.ly/10SeKyS

 

Lane overwhelms Taft

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Lane has long been a Public League power in girls soccer and if Saturday’s Public League quarterfinal playoff is any indication, the Indians aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Lane got off to a quick start, scoring nine goals in the first 26:43 and cruising to an easy 10-0 win over Taft to set up a semifinal matchup against Northside Tuesday afternoon.

Lane, which features just six seniors on its roster, got on the board when freshman Detzi Reveles scored 3:15 into the game.

However, after that goal, it quickly became the Jasmin Carrera show. The senior scored the first of her four first-half goals exactly three minutes after Reveles’.

Natalie Wade, one of seven sophomores on the squad, scored her first goal of the game in the ninth minute and Carrera followed up with her second five minutes later.

“We always want to go in there and score as many goals as we can,” said Wade. “We like to get out to fast starts.”

Carrera completed the hat trick in the 18th minute when she blasted a shot past the Taft goalie, who had come out of the box. Lane (15-4) had an easy time getting to the net, especially on the right side where there were holes the entire first half.

“We have to treat every play as if it is 0-0, even if we just scored,” said Wade, who played goalie the second half. “That way we won’t get overconfident and lose focus.”

Carrera picked up her fourth goal of the game in the 22nd minute and then became more of a distributor. Teaming with sophomore Sofia Pavon, the two continually pushed into the Taft zone, helping halt any pressure the Eagles (4-11-2) would try to put on Lane.

Anastasia Niforos scored a goal one minute after Carrera’s fourth and Pavon added one of her own a minute and a half later.

Wade picked up her second goal in the 27th minute, marking the end of the scoring the first half and giving the Indians a 9-0 lead at halftime.

“As great as our offense is, our defense is always key for us,” said Wade. “We need be able to deny teams any opportunities so we can get our offense started.”

Due to the wide margin, the game was played with a shortened second half. It didn’t matter for Lane, as Pavon scored her second goal.

Link to story: http://bit.ly/119UU8e

Young soccer keeps rolling

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Azia Javier kept Young rolling through the Public League playoffs on Saturday by netting a hat trick in the Dolphins 4-0 quarterfinal victory over Lincoln Park at Lane.

“We like to score early and often,” Javier said. “We don’t like being behind, so we try to build up a lead. We are an offensive-minded team and know that the teams we’re going to see, we’ve played, but that doesn’t stop us from doing what we do.”

After playing to a stalemate for most of the first half, Javier recorded in a goal in the 26th minute for Young (14-5-2).

Javier’s second goal came 11 minutes later as she accelerated down the right side of the field, knocking it in just over the Lincoln Park goalie’s outstretched arms.

Javier wasn’t done though. Seven minutes into the second half, she took a shot from the far right corner of the box that rocketed past the goalie’s arms into the upper left corner of the goal.

Young continued the pressure and picked up its final goal when freshman Madison Ekern knocked in a goal from in front of the goal to create the final margin.

Lincoln Park (3-6-5), which had somewhat of an offensive attack in the first half, was unable to create any kind of pressure for Young defense in the second half.

“Over the season we’ve done a great job getting everyone involved, that’s something we look to do in every game,” Javier said. “We know our opponent in the next round (Payton) is a tough team because they’re in the Premier division. Every team is going to bring it because it’s the playoffs. You just have to be ready.”

Link to story: http://bit.ly/12ajhyb

Young rallies past St. Ignatius

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Young did not possess the intensity it needed in the first set of its showdown with rival St. Ignatius on Friday. The Dolphins, however, were able to rally behind Tom Wesolowski’s match-high 20 kills and earn a 17-25, 25-15, 25-16 victory over the visiting Wolfpack. Continue reading →

Payton pulls out win vs. Young

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In a matchup of the Public League’s top two teams, Payton showed that sometimes practice isn’t perfect. The Grizzlies, who have yet to have a full practice with all of their players present, defeated host Young 21-25, 25-20, 25-12 Tuesday afternoon in both teams’ conference opener. Continue reading →

Milwaukee Riverside cruises to win over Bogan

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Bogan came in with the better record, but it was Milwaukee Riverside that walked away the victors Sunday morning as they defeated the Bengals 73-57 in the MLK Dream Classic at Young. Continue reading →

Marshall rolls past Germantown

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Getting off to a good start is essential for any team to be successful. Marshall exemplified that Sunday morning in the MLK Dream Classic at Young, cruising to a 62-5 win over Germantown, Pa.

Germantown scored the first basket of the game at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter, but was unable to get anything going for the rest of the game. Marshall went on a 32-0 run to end the first half and extended that lead to 40-2 before the Bears hit a free throw with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Ebony Geddia, who hit the free throw in the third quarter, knocked in Germantown’s first field goal since the first quarter with 1:50 left in the final frame.

With a bench of just two players, many of Marshall’s starters played through the entire game. Junior Tyisha Saunders had 24 points and Yowana Posey added 16 to lead the Commandos (10-9). Geddia led Germantown with three points.

While the Bears (5-4) had trouble making shots, Marshall was causing havoc on its opponents with a 2-1-2 press. The pressure forced 41 Gemantown turnovers, including 28 in the first half. The Commandos turned thier defense into offense with 49 points scored off of turnovers.

Germantown, which in 1999 became the first school from out of state to play in this three-day event, was hindered by the fact it was missing four key players. Two starters were sidelined with torn ACL’s, one had a broken hand and another player was in the hospital battling Chron’s Disease.

Link to story: http://bit.ly/Umz7V9