Athlete of the Week: Oak Lawn's Andy Szczepaniak Is a Freshman on the Rise

Last Monday, Oak Lawn freshman Andy Szczepaniak won the No. 2 singles championship at the South Suburban Red Conference boys tennis tournament at Eisenhower.

It’s that kind of performance that have his coach raving about Szczepaniak in the present and looking forward to his future.

“He’s already a really good player and he’s a just a freshman, so he’s going to continue to get better,” Oak Lawn coach Melissa Schumacher said. “He’s going to get bigger, he’s going to get stronger. He’s going to do very well for us.”

With his 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory for the No. 2 singles title, Szczepaniak has been named Patch’s Athlete of the Week.

“I started off kind of slow, but after the match went on, I started playing a little better and just focused,” Szczepaniak said.

Szczepaniak’s older brother is Oak Lawn No. 1 singles player Marcin Szczepaniak, who won in the finals of the conference tourney. Schumacher said the brothers provide great competition for each other.

“Neither of them would have anybody at their own level to hit with, so it is nice,” she said.