Central's Bernhard eyes fifth-place finish
May 27—Ezra Bernhard can place as high as fifth on Saturday in the Class 1A boys' tennis singles state tournament.
A familiar foe — Peoria Notre Dame's Scott Anderson — stands in the Champaign Central junior's way.
"The two of them have very different styles of play," Central coach Scott Davis said, "and I think it's whoever can make the other play their style is going to be the key."
If Bernhard can oust Anderson in the consolation semifinal round, he'll battle Richland County's Evan Uhl or Normal U-High's Abhay Hiredesai for fifth place.
Rock Island Alleman's Nicholas Patrick beat Bernhard 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals on Friday before Bernhard defeated Patrick Burke 6-4, 6-1, in the consolation quarterfinals. Two victories by Bernhard on Saturday could elevate Central in the team standings. The Maroons are tied with Chicago University and Springfield for fourth-place at 16 points behind Latin (42), Benet (18) and Dunlap (17).
"For us to have the entire team up here scoring points has been great," Davis said. "Hopefully, we can get Ezra a couple more."
In softball
Maroons stumble. Playing in their first regional title game since 2007, fourth-seeded Champaign Central lost 10-0 to top-seeded Mt. Zion on Friday in Class 3A play.
The Maroons finished with a 16-21 record.
