FEATURE

The Starting VII

Week 1

By Aaron Brown

Seven things to look for in the first week of the season:

I.

Rivalry games early this season, featuring Mundelein-Stevenson (boys), Lyons-Oak Park (boys/girls), New Trier-GBS (boys), and Schaumburg-Conant (boys/girls).

II.

The MCAC Conference battles, including Fenwick-Loyola, St Patrick-St Rita, St Rita-Brother Rice, and St Ignatius-St Patrick.

III.

St Rita's opening week, which includes games against St Patrick, Brother Rice, and Homewood-Flossmoor.

IV.

The New Trier Tournament (girls), which always features tough competition between the host Trevians, rival Evanston, Sandburg, and St Viator.

V.

The Fenwick girls' schedule in Week 1, with two key fixtures against Top 10 opponents, Loyola and Stevenson.

VI.

Girls' matchups between Barrington-Fremd and Prospect-Barrington, which showcase three teams vying for the MSL Championship in 2009.

VII.

The Naperville-area tournaments for both boys and girls, with Central, North, Neuqua, and Waubonsie testing each other out in the opening weekend.

The First Sub

The GBS Tournament (boys), which showcases several teams looking to make their mark this season, like GBS, Loyola, Evanston, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Palatine and Prospect, among others.