Boys tennis: Sauk Valley area duo ready for trip to state

A pair of local boys tennis players punched their tickets to the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament at last weekend’s Rochelle Sectional.

One of them, Sterling junior Brecken Peterson, has been there before – twice, in fact. The other, Newman junior Logan Palmer, is eagerly anticipating his first trip to the Chicago suburbs for the tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday.

For Peterson, this will be his third chance to compete at state. He went 2-2 as a freshman in 2021, then 3-2 last year as a sophomore. The past experience – and all the preparation he’s put in the past few years – have him feeling comfortable and confident.

“It’s just trusting in and believing in myself and all the work I’ve been able to put in,” Peterson said. “I understand that it’s one match at a time, it’s the best players in the state, and anything can happen. It’s just trusting the work I’ve done to get to this point, and going out and playing my game.”

That’s exactly what he did at the sectional last weekend, where he finished second. After a first-round bye, Peterson defeated Kaneland’s Luke McEvoy 6-0, 6-0 in the second round, then blanked Geneseo’s Braden Possin 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals to earn his state berth.

On Day 2, he downed Sycamore’s Steven Chen 6-2, 6-0 before falling 6-0, 6-0 to Alleman’s Nicholas Patrick – the top-seeded player at the 1A state tournament this weekend.

“My serve really helped me out last weekend, allowed me to overpower some of my opponents. My ground strokes were good as well,” Peterson said. “The way I look at it, playing Nicholas is the best thing that could have happened for me. At state, you’re going up against the best player possible, and the only way to prepare is to play against the best.”

Peterson is seeded in the 9-16 range in Class 1A – one of the first Sterling players to earn that distinction in quite some time, if ever – and will take on Herrin senior Brisdon Quaglia in the first round on Thursday morning at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates.

The Sterling junior won his opening-round match as a freshman, and lost in the first round last year before bouncing back with three straight consolation-bracket wins before bowing out in the consolation fourth round.

“It’s the same goal for me this year: I want to do the best I can, try to get as many wins as I can. I can’t overlook anyone, because everyone at state is an amazing player,” Peterson said. “It’s just really cool to see my growth going through this the last three years now. I understand it’s not something every player gets a chance to do, and to be able to be going for the third time is special. I just want to be able to take a step back and enjoy the moment.”

That’s the same approach that Palmer is taking for his first trip to state. He doesn’t have a specific goal in mind, other than to try to win at least one match.

He’s most excited to see the top-tier talent at state – and see how he stacks up.

“I’m really looking forward to going and seeing what I have, and what the guys at the top level can do,” Palmer said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet that I’m going to be playing with them; I think it’ll hit me more once I get on the court and start warming up on Thursday.”

Palmer will take on Oak Forest senior Jay Patel in the first round at Wheeling High School.

At the sectional, Palmer received a first-round bye, then went on offense to beat Kaneland’s AJ Faruga 6-0, 6-0 in the second round. The big match for him was the quarterfinal, where he changed his strategy and just tried to be a backboard against Geneseo’s Henry Lehman. He took that match 6-3, 6-4 to punch his ticket to this weekend.

“I was calmer in the morning, had a good first match, played a lot of offense,” Palmer said. “The second match I had was against a tall kid with a great serve, so I just kept the points in play, tried to keep the rallies going and let him make mistakes. Although I was nervous, I played pretty well, and I was pumped when I won to qualify for state.”

On Saturday, he lost 6-0, 6-0 to the top-ranked Patrick, then dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to Chen to finish fourth.

But Day 2 wasn’t about winning, necessarily. Instead, with his spot at state already secure, Palmer enjoyed the opportunity to play two more matches.

“Knowing that I was already there, I went in Saturday and just had fun,” he said. “I knew the only thing I could do was get a better medal and a higher seed at state. That first match, Nicholas is a really good player, and we’re good friends, so I had fun. It was really just a blessing to play on Saturday.”

That’s the same attitude he’s taking into the Chicago suburbs this weekend for state.

“I’m not looking for anything in particular. I’m going there to have fun, play as offensively as I can, and whether it’s a good day or a bad day, just enjoy myself,” Palmer said. “I’d love to move out of the first round; if I don’t win that first match, I’m just going to try and advance in the consolation bracket.”