Rockford's top 10 boys tennis players to watch for the 2024 season

A pair of players who won NIC-10 titles as freshmen last year and a tall senior who could make a splash in Class 1A lead our list of boys tennis players to watch in the Rockford-area this season.

Here are our top 10 local players to watch, with players listed in alphabetical order:

Austin Altangerel, Auburn

Altangerel partnered with Armaan Farokhi and won the NIC-10 No. 1 singles title last year as a freshman. They took second at sectionals, losing in three sets to a duo from Huntley, and went 1-2 at state. Altangerel now switches to No. 1 singles as a sophomore. “Austin has a very good all-around game. He just needs to learn to stay patient,” Auburn coach Tracy Palmer said.

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Armaan Farokhi, Auburn

Farokhi switches to No. 2 singles for his junior season after winning the NIC-10 doubles title and finishing a close second at sectionals last year with Austin Altangerel, who will now play No. 1 singles.  “Armaan has worked very hard in the off-season and just needs to stay consistent,” Auburn coach Tracy Palmer said.

Arry Fu, Rockford Christian

Fu, a junior, will be paired with Gianni Racinilli for Rockford Christian’s top doubles team. Racinilli took fourth at sectionals to qualify for state in 1A doubles with Mats Tuneberg last year. “Arry is a junior who is new to the team, but who is every experienced in the sport,” Rockford Christian coach Saim Yeung said.

More: High school tennis: How these Rockford-area tennis stars qualified for state

Owen Helm, Freeport

Helm, a senior, finished third in the NIC-10 at No. 1 singles last year. He was 7-2 in regular-season conference matches. Helm leads a team that finished third in the conference last year, four-tenths of a point behind runner-up Auburn, and looks like the favorite this year, although Auburn, Guilford and Hononegah will also be in the running. Freeport returns seven of eight starters, while defending champion Hononegah graduated three starters and saw three others move away. "Owen has started to take better care of the tennis ball this year," Freeport coach Ed Schradermeier said. "He has the potential to take the steps to the next level. Owen has transformed from player to leader."

Ben Leake, Belvidere North

Leake, a junior, won the NIC-10 No. 2 singles title as a freshman and took third in doubles at sectionals with partner Jack Stolp to qualify for state in Class 1A last year. They finished 1-2 at state. They were fifth in the NIC-10 at No. 1 doubles. Five of the players who finished above them graduated. The other three will play singles this year, leaving them as the clear doubles team to beat.

Ayden Mabrey, Harlem

Mabrey finished fourth in the NIC-10 at No. 1 doubles last year with the now-graduated Logan Lawson. They were 7-1 in conference dual-meet matches. They also qualified for state. Mabrey moves to No. 1 singles his senior year for a Harlem team that graduated seven seniors but is up to 22 players this year with an influx of new recruits. “I don’t know yet where Aydon fits (in the conference)," Harlem coach Bill Dredge said, “but he should win some matches.”

Braden Monson, Hononegah

Monson, a sophomore, might be the premier player in the area. He won the NIC-10 No. 1 singles title as a freshman, upsetting defending champion Sharankumar Kamaraj 6-3, 6-2 in the finals. He later finished third at Class 2A sectionals. He went 0-2 at state, losing his final match 11-9 in a tiebreaker. Hononegah coach John Torrence said Monson should be even better this year. "He can hit a more aggressive first serve and has the ability to attack more effectively on both sides of his groundstrokes." But it will be an uphill battle to repeat as team champ after three starters graduated and three others moved away. “We will probably have to put some beginners in varsity positions,” Torrence said.

Gianni Racinilli, Rockford Christian

Racinelli qualified for state playing with fellow sophomore Mats Tuneberg, where they finished 0-2. They were fourth at Class 1A sectionals, losing in a third-set tiebreaker in the semifinals. This year, the two juniors are splitting up. Racinelli will be paired with junior Arry Fu for the Royal Lions’ top doubles team. The team’s roster has doubled from five players to 10. Coach Saim Yeung says the hope is to qualify both doubles teams for state.

Jack Stolp, Belvidere North

Stolp, a senior, placed third at sectionals with Ben Leake last year to qualify for state in doubles, where they went 1-2 in Class 1A. They finished fifth in the NIC-10 at No. 1 doubles last year and should be the top doubles team this season.

Benjamin Temple, Lutheran

Temple was a Class 1A sectional champion as a junior. He finished 0-2 at state, but both matches were close, losing 6-4, 6-3 both times. Temple led Rockford Lutheran to its first sectional tennis title, edging Belvidere North 16 to 14. The tall senior has a lot of power and, playing in 1A, might have the best chance of any local player at state this year. "He can really hit the ball hard when he wants to, but he has a good all-around game," Lutheran coach Nick Born said. "His biggest strength is his groundstrokes. He can mix up topspin and slice and can get creative with his serve. On volleys, he can crush a forehand or even a backhand groundstroke out of the air."

Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Two star sophomores lead Rockford boys tennis players to watch in 2024