Stevenson duo finds itself finishing on top

Kaylin Dong and Zoe Manion, two of Stevenson’s fab frosh tennis players, haven’t panicked much as athletes this fall.

But, as students, they had some scary/uh-oh moments last month, on the first day of school at their sprawling, college-campus-like school in Lincolnshire.

“I was late for one of my classes … about 20 minutes late,” a smiling Manion recalled at Saturday’s Prospect Invite. “I couldn’t find it.”

“I,” said Dong, “got lost a couple of times.”

They lost exactly zero matches, combined, on familiar ground (hard courts) Saturday.

Dong, who normally plays at No. 2 doubles with Manion, captured the No. 1 singles title. Manion netted a pair of 6-0, 6-1 victories to top the No. 2 singles field.

“(Manion’s) forehand has a ton a pace,” said Naperville North freshman Jessica Hu, runner-up at No. 2 singles. “And she angles her groundstrokes so well, so deep to the corners. It’s hard enough trying to handle the speed of her shots. Then, when you add where she places her shots … that’s tough. She’s tough.

“She moved the ball around really well against me.”

Dong, meanwhile, dictated matters throughout most of her 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Prospect’s No. 1 player, senior Maggie Partridge.

“She was really good at controlling the points,” said Partridge, a state doubles qualifier last fall and the Knights’ lone finalist on Saturday. “I tried – I really tried – to move her around. But she burned me a couple of times. I also tried some new things out there. You have to do that against a player like her. Some new things worked for me; some didn’t.”

All but one of Stevenson’s seven entrants left as flight champions on Saturday. The Pats’ other victors: Ai Kashii (No. 3 singles); Lexxi Kiven/Kendall Kirsch (No. 1 doubles); Gabby Demchenko/Danielle Vasiliev (No. 2 doubles); and Lizzy Ettelson/Megan Merritt (No. 4 doubles).

Pats Michelle Tulchinskaya/June Joung fell 6-2, 6-3 to Naperville North’s Julia Li/Karen Liu in the No. 3 doubles final.

Coach Tom Stanhope’s Stevenson squad amassed an invite-best 40 points to runner-up Naperville North’s 29. Buffalo Grove (16) placed third, ahead of Prospect (12) and St. Charles East (12). Lake Zurich (3) finished sixth.

More than a few of BG’s Bison, after bumping into a Patriot or two on Saturday, must have uttered, “You again?” BG and Stevenson played in a dual the day before, with youthful Stevenson winning 6-1.

Four Pats – Dong, Manion, Kirsch and Tulchinskaya – were navigating hallways as eighth-graders at this time last year.

“It’s been so nice, having such an influx of talented, tournament-tested freshmen,” said Stevenson assistant Grant Johnson, a former Hersey second baseman whose younger sister, Erica Johnson (Hersey, Class of ’01), played Big Ten tennis at Iowa.

“In practices, we get to coach strategy, and we don’t have to worry about feeding balls (in drills) or discussing fundamentals, over and over,” he said. “They’re all good enough to feed each other, and they’re fundamentally sound. Our freshmen, they all like to play, and they show up every day … ready to go, eager to work and play.”

Two freshmen, Hu and Abbie Boswell, ripped shots for Naperville North on Saturday. Boswell teamed with sophomore Kamile Stadalninkaite to take runner-up honors at No. 1 doubles – one of North’s five second-place efforts.

“It’s nice having freshmen around, having them contribute like they have for us,” said Huskies junior Ellen Heidenreich, who edged BG senior Michelle Carlson 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 for third place at No. 1 singles.

Heidenreich has played some doubles with Hu this fall.

“I love doubles, love hitting passing shots,” Heidenreich said. “I love variety, too … playing doubles one day, singles the next.”

Dana Goggin/Lauren Goggin (No. 1 doubles), Ellena Foutris/Courtney Pietras (No. 3 doubles) and senior Kristen Immen (No. 2 singles) swung to third-place points for BG.

Immen defeated St. Charles East’s Jamie Youngberg 6-2, 6-2 in a match for third place, after bowing 6-0, 6-1 to Stevenson’s Manion in a semifinal.

“I like playing better players,” said Immen, who, hours after scooting left and dashing right to chase after Manion’s corner shots, went to work as a cashier for a local Corner Bakery Café.

First-year Prospect coach Mike McColaugh received third-place finishes from Christina Santiago (No. 3 singles) and Laura Dietrich/Lauren Nopar (No. 2 doubles).

Lake Zurich’s top entrant Saturday was its No. 4 doubles team. Nina LaRoe/Lauryn Schaal took fourth. The Bears’ No. 3 tandem, sophomore Sam Bendfeldt and junior Melanie Spears, split a pair of matches on Saturday – not long after LZ coach Aaron Rogers had tinkered with his lineup and split them up for a couple of dual meets.

“They were eager to get back, play together again,” Rogers said of his varsity rookies. “They didn’t like being separated. They have passion for the game, the desire.

“Sam and Melanie,” he added, “want to win, badly.”