Corky Leighton chuckles as he tells one of his favorite anecdotes about Lake Forest High School senior tennis player Peter Tarwid.
“He was up a break [5–4] and getting ready to serve,” says Corky, the Scouts’ tennis coach. “I told Peter to get his first serve in on each point and be ready for the next shot.”
At 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, Peter got his first serve in at the outset of the game. But the return didn’t come back; he had smacked an ace.
“Peter then hits three more aces,” adds Corky, laughing. “He never had to be ready for the next shot in any of the points.”
In early May, Peter appeared poised for another successful showing at the state meet (scheduled for May 29 to 31). His lone singles loss in 2014 was to reigning state champion Martin Joyce of Hinsdale Central. Peter won a combined 12 matches at the state meet the previous two seasons, helping LFHS finish runner-up in 2013 and third in 2012 in the team standings.
Shortly after his imposing four-of-a-kind (all aces) feat, he cracked eight more aces in a set against a perennial state qualifier at the Pitchford Invitational in Arlington Heights.
“Peter is smart and focused, point to point, and he’s developed a complete game,” says Scott Gilbert, the scouts’ assistant tennis coach. “It’s like he’s a micromanager of his game. He never thinks he’s out of a match, and he plays instinctively with a very good court sense.
“But,” he adds, “it’s his focus, how he’s always zoned in—that’s what he does best and that’s why he’s as successful as he is.”
The son of immigrants (Andrew and Iwona) from Poland in the early 1980s, Peter points to his parents as the ones who started espousing the importance of a sound work ethic when he was slightly taller than the length of a tennis racket.
“The way they raised me, the way they emphasized hard work—I’ve always been inspired by them and thankful for what they’ve done for me,” says Peter, who intends to major in economics and strike winners and more aces at Brown University.
Ranked ninth in the Midwest (Boys 18-and-Under Singles) by the United States Tennis Association, Peter has honed his impressive all-court game under the watchful eye of Peter Krizman, director of tennis at The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff. He achieved his highest national singles ranking (No. 52) in the Boys 16-and-Under age division. In between his junior and senior seasons, Peter worked regularly on his strength and conditioning at 360 Athlete, a sports training facility in Northbrook.
“Peter is an animal when he plays, very aggressive and physical,” Corky says of his tri-captain and four-year varsity netter. “He fights for every point. He’s tenacious, a battler, a force. On the court, he’s
all business.”
Off the court, Peter is seriously interested in investments. Since his sophomore year, he has been drawn to the inner workings of companies and their bottom lines.
“I like watching a company and seeing how it grows,” Peters says.
Peter’s stock as a tennis player? That’s doing exactly what his number of aces per match is doing: rising.
-Bill McLean // Photography by Joel Lerner
