Boys Tennis: Hinsdale Central cruises in Day 1

Updated: May 24, 2012 8:57PM

The first day of the state tennis finals were a breeze Thursday for Hinsdale ­Central.

The Red Devils were the only team to advance both of its singles players and both of its doubles teams to the fourth round en route to taking the lead in the race for the team title with 24 points.

The wind was a factor at the Rolling Meadows site, where gusts were coming from the south and wreaking havoc on shots. Four players advanced from the site to play Friday at Hersey.

Naperville North’s Gordon Zhang didn’t seem to mind the wind gusts at all. The senior right-hander moved to the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jake Elliott of Lyons.

‘‘I like the wind,’’ Zhang said. ‘‘It suits my game. I like to hit a different variety of shots and the wind just adds to that.’’

Zhang was down 0-30 in the match-deciding game, but used his serve and some long rallies to catch and surpass Elliot.

Zhang will take on Josh Cogan of Batavia in a Friday morning match. The two seniors haven’t met in a tournament since they were 12-year-olds. Cogan, who made quick work of Ismail Kadyrov, of Vernon Hills, 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday, has finished in the top 10 the last two years, with a tie for seventh being his best finish. The Washington University recruit is looking for more this year.

‘‘This year my goal is to finish in the top four,’’ Cogan said. ‘‘I once had a coach tell me that anyone can win on a windy day. The key is to have good footwork.’’

Peter Tarwid felt as if he didn’t play his best tennis, but the Lake Forest sophomore helped keep his team near the top of the standings with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 ­victory over Will Koehrsen of Metamora. The long match had both players near exhaustion at the end of the day.

‘‘I was exhausted,’’ Tarwid said. ‘‘I didn’t do real well adjusting to the wind today at all. He was just trying to keep the ball in play and waiting for me to miss a shot. I have a big match [against Martin Joyce] tomorrow. If I play like this, it will be a bad outcome.’’

Joyce is experiencing his first state title play and is enjoying the moment. The talented Hinsdale Central freshman dispatched Brad Holt of Homewood-Flossmoor, 6-1, 7-5 to advance. Holt defeated Public League champion Darrell Robbins of Payton, 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.

‘‘This is really fun,’’ Joyce said. ‘‘It’s way better than I expected. I get to play against a bunch of different kids that I never have played against before.’’

Joyce was buoyed in his third-round match by his teammates and coaches, who showed up from various other sites to cheer the freshman on.

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