Noah Hernandez finished his four-year tennis career at Brown University with 61 career doubles wins, Academic All-Ivy honors, and a degree in business economics. He's returning to Chicago to start his career. Four years ago, he was winning an IHSA doubles state title at Hinsdale Central.
Hernandez is one of three Hinsdale residents from the Class of 2022 who wrapped up standout college athletic careers this spring, each at a different level of competition.
"I probably lost more matches in the first couple of months at Brown than I did in my entire career at Central," Hernandez told The Hinsdalean.
His 61 career doubles wins rank 20th all time at Brown. During his junior year, in November 2024, he and his partner became the first Brown doubles team ever to qualify for the ITA sectionals tournament. That same spring, the pair earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors, recognition no Brown doubles team had received in eight years. As a senior, the Ivy League named Hernandez Academic All-Ivy on April 30, 2026.
Spitzer earns third straight All-Region nod
Michael Spitzer, an entrepreneurship major at Illinois Wesleyan University, earned PING All-America honorable mention on June 11, 2026, capping a senior season in which the Titans finished as national runner-up at the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship.
He arrived at IWU as a freshman in fall 2022 behind a roster stacked with talent from back-to-back national championship teams. By April 2023, he shot rounds of 68 and 67 to earn conference player of the week. His junior year, he captured the CCIW individual title with an eight-under 208, including a second-round 65. His season scoring average of 72 ranked fifth-best in program history.
His senior year started rough. Spitzer lost his spot in the starting lineup after a slow fall. He worked his way back, placed third at the CCIW championship, and helped IWU claim its 13th consecutive conference title. He was named PING All-Region for the third consecutive year.
Quast helps Whitewater win first outright conference title since 2012
Jake Quast, a 6-foot-3 guard and finance major, spent four years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His freshman season ended in the NCAA Division III Final Four. His sophomore year, the longtime head coach stepped down weeks before the season. Quast started 12 games that year.
By his senior season, the Warhawks won the WIAC regular season title outright on February 22, 2026, their first since 2012. They finished 21-8 overall. Quast averaged six points and three rebounds per game as the team's sixth man.
"It was the best atmosphere I've ever played a basketball game in," Quast said of the title-clinching season. "We were supposed to be mediocre or bad, so the whole season was this crazy success story."
Current Red Devils earn All-State honors
The college success stories come as current Hinsdale Central athletes keep stacking honors. Girls lacrosse players McCall Brzozowski and Demetra Gatzulis earned first-team All-State recognition from the Illinois Girls Lacrosse Coaches Association in early June. Brzozowski was named player of the game in Central's 20-6 state tournament win over Nazareth Academy on May 29.
Hernandez plans to start work in Chicago after graduation. Spitzer and Quast are finishing their final semesters in Bloomington and Whitewater, respectively.
