Tennis travels work out for PR grad

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

Sam Sweeney’s college tennis journey has taken him to three college campuses in the past 10 months.

“It’s been an extremely long year,” Sweeney said with a sigh. “But it’s good just to be
playing again.”

Last week, the Prairie Ridge graduate’s travels paid off when he was named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tennis Player of the Year.

A junior at NCAA Division III North Central College in Naperville, Sweeney finished the season 23-2 at No. 1 singles and won the last 13 matches of the season while going unbeaten in conference play.

“Tennis is a part of my life that I really didn’t want to end,” Sweeney said.

But for a time, it did for Sweeney, whose college career began at the University of
Illinois-Chicago in 2006.

After three semesters there, he transferred to Parkland College in Champaign.

While a student at Parkland, Sweeney worked out with the University of Illinois team last summer. Sweeney said when it was unlikely that he would make the starting lineup for the Fighting Illini, a team that lost this week in the NCAA’s Sweet 16 round, he was recommended by Illinois coach Brad Dancer to Michigan State’s coaches.

“I always wanted to play at a Big Ten school,” Sweeney said.

In August, he began workouts at Michigan State. But a month later, Sweeney said he realized he was not able to devote enough time to his biochemistry major and play tennis at the same time.

Sweeney left MSU for Illi-nois, where he spent the fall semester as a student.

“I was so frustrated,” he said. “I didn’t even play tennis for three months.”

While visiting Crystal Lake Central grad Gabe Youel, an All-America wrestler at North Central and Sweeney’s best friend since fifth grade, a new tennis destination was born.

“We were just talking and Gabe said, ‘What do you think about coming to North Central?’ ”
Sweeney said. “I just got that hunger to play again.”

The fit has been a positive one for Sweeney.

“I feel like I’m performing more optimally at this level,” said Sweeney, who is studying to become a pharmacist. “When I’m playing tennis, I feel like I’m doing better in school.”

Sweeney, who always wanted to play at the D-I level, has found the small-school atmosphere to his liking.

“I like learning in a smaller classroom setting than in a lecture hall with 600 or 700
people,” said Sweeney, who plans to take the pharmacy school admissions test Aug. 22. “And from the second I got here, the athletic director, Jim Miller, knew my name.”

Sweeney’s next step is deciding whether to spend his final season of college eligibility
playing at North Central. His choice will depend on whether he gets accepted to pharmacy school.

Sweeney said he would prefer to be accepted to pharmacy school and delay the acceptance for a year.

“That way, I could play my last season at North Central,” he said.

N.C. State steals king: Crystal Lake South grad Kyle Wilson broke a 17-year-old North Carolina State record Tuesday with his 30th stolen base of the season.

Wilson, a junior center fielder for the D-I Wolfpack (25-29) had three hits, three RBIs and two steals in a 10-6 win against Appalachian State on Tuesday. Wilson, who is hitting .367 in the past 16 games, has a .274 season average with a team-best 14 doubles and a .431 slugging percentage.

Wilson, the team’s leadoff hitter, had one of his biggest games of the season Sunday in a 9-4 win against No. 1 North Carolina. He went 3-for-3, homered twice, scored three runs and stole a base.

Horizon League honoree: Crystal Lake South grad Aimee Schuh was named the Horizon League’s Field Events Newcomer of the Year at the conference’s outdoor track meet earlier this month.

Schuh, a freshman at UIC, finished second in the heptathlon with 4,427 points, 40 behind league champion Yandeh Joh of Youngstown State. She also finished third in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.98 seconds.

Aimee Schuh’s twin sister, Kellie, placed second in the pole vault at 11 feet, 51⁄4 inches, for the Flames.

MVP at NMU: Northern Michigan junior outside hitter Mandie Meyer was named volleyball MVP at an awards banquet last month for the D-II school’s student-athletes.

Meyer led the team and ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference with 405 kills. She was a second-team All-GLIAC selection.

• Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his
OnCampus blog at www.McHenryCountySports.com/blogs/oncampus.