Girls tennis: West Aurora's Stefancic, Goheen 2A state doubles champs
The West Aurora doubles team of Liz Stefancic and Maria Goheen, by their own admission, did not play their best tennis in the Class 2A girls' state doubles semifinals Saturday morning at Buffalo Grove High School.
But Stefancic and Goheen regrouped and defeated the Hinsdale Central duo of Sarah Badawi and Kathryn Treiber, a 3-4 seed, to advance to the state-championship match where they left little doubt in the second set as to who the top doubles team in Class 2A is.
Stefancic and Goheen downed the Whitney Young duo of Camryn Salter and Darinka Stepan 7-6 (2), 6-2 to win the Class 2A state doubles title.
Stefancic and Goheen are the second doubles team and fifth individuals to win girls' tennis state titles at West Aurora. They join Natalie and Stephanie Matko (1996 and 1997 state doubles champions) and Cathy Hofer (1982 state singles title) as Blackhawk girls' state tennis titlists.
"The final was really close in that first set. It was back and forth," said Stefancic, a three-time state qualifier who plans on playing in college. "They broke us early on and that led to them getting up 3-2 and 4-3 and they had a set point or two on us. We stayed tough and we were roaring in the second set."
Goheen's backhand poach off Stefancic's 40-30 serve on match point sewed up the title.
"It's really cool to put West Aurora back into the loop," said Stefancic. "The last time West Aurora won a state title was exactly 20 years ago. This means a lot to me being a senior."
Goheen transferred from Rosary after qualifying for state as a freshman there.
"Liz and I always have been friends," she said. "I never thought we would get the chance to play together. This is pretty amazing. It hasn't quite sunk in yet. We've probably known each other since we were four or five in pee-wee tennis."
Stefancic added: "I wouldn't want to win this with anybody else. She's my friend in tennis that I've known the longest."
Stefancic and Goheen were undefeated as a doubles team. Stefancic finished undefeated overall on the season while Goheen's only two losses this season came to eventual Class 2A state singles champion Kolie Allen of Glenbard East in the span of a week.
"I told her once that imagine if we ever played doubles together, we could possibly win state," Goheen said.
Stefancic added: "We never had the end goal of winning state. It was more of enjoying the moment together and it just kind of happened this way."
In the semifinal win against Hinsdale Central, Stefancic and Goheen dug themselves out of a 3-0 hole in the first set.
"I started out super tight," Stefancic said. "Maria helped me work through it."
Goheen added: "We came back in the second set so well. We were up 5-1 at one point and it hit me. 'Oh my gosh, we are going to the final.' "
Hinsdale Central came back to tie it at 5-5, but Stefancic and Goheen were up to the task.
"Hinsdale Central picked it up and capitalized on us being tight," said Stefancic. "We woke up and loosened up and capitalized on some opportunities and pulled it out."
In the complete coincidence department, one of the officials in the state-championship match Saturday was Deb Dickson Kramer, who was West Aurora's first girls' player to qualify for the state tournament. Dickson Kramer finished 5th in the singles tournament in both 1973 and 1974.
"She (Dickson Kramer) was so happy she was crying," said Stefancic, who noted former West Aurora state qualifier Michelle Matko was one of her youth tennis coaches and that two-time West Aurora state doubles qualifier Chrissy Ormond was in attendance Saturday. "She was one of the ones who started the program. West Aurora has a rich history in girls tennis. To bring it all around like this is very cool."