Girls golf: Perakis sisters a dynamic duo at Glenbrook South
Glenbrook South's Perakis sisters picked up where they left off last Friday - playing golf as good as anyone in the state.
Effie Perakis, a sophomore, shot a 74 to edge her older sister Maria's 75 and win the Prospect Invitational, kicking off the high school golf season by leading their team to the tournament title by 7 shots over Prospect.
Last fall it was Maria who finished second in the Class 2A state tournament, losing on the first playoff hole after tying Barrington's Mara Janess with a two-day total of 147. Effie wasn't far behind as a freshman, shooting 77-73-150 for 10th.
The sisters work hard to bring out the best in each other.
"We definitely push each other," said Maria Perakis, a senior. "It's super good. Even though she's two years younger it's still neck and neck in some of these tournaments because she's been getting so good. It's definitely motivation to try to one up each other and help each other when our swings aren't working because we kind of know each other's swings and can give tips when they aren't working correctly."
Glenbrook South coach Thomas Cieplik said it's a healthy drive between the two.
"They put the team above themselves but they have good competition between each other," Cieplik said. "They want each other to do well but they want to beat each other each round. That's pretty fun to watch. When they are shooting 74, 75 and thinking they left some strokes out there, that's always a good sign."
Parents Harry and Christine encourage their daughters' golf games, from the net installed so they can hit in the basement to their dad's work with both of their swings. That basement setup came in especially handy in April when golf courses and ranges closed.
Maria and Effie said they started golfing when they were 5 years old. Both dabbled in tennis but eventually focused their energy on golf, crediting their father's work on refining their game.
"He's had a pretty big impact on both my sister's and my golf game," Effie said. "Throughout the years he's very good at pinpointing the small things in the golf swing. Things most people wouldn't even notice but are pretty monumental in how your golf swing works good or bad. He's been very helpful to our golf swings over the years."
There are differences in the sisters. In their free time, Maria likes to paint; Effie would rather bake.
The older sister Maria has decided on Bradley for college while Effie is just starting that process, also hoping to play college golf.
Maria, who plans to major in a science field, visited Bradley just before the country shut down last February and clicked with coach Halley Morell. She said picking Bradley was an easy decision once she saw Morell's passion for the sport and the school's academics.
Effie said the strength of her game are her drives and iron play while she's honing a couple things with her putting. Maria said her short game is improving and likes the way she's hitting her irons; how well she scores depends on if she's hitting fairways off the tee.
Maria finished her summer strong by taking sixth in the Illinois state tournament in Decatur, shooting 2-under in her final round.
While it's uncertain if this season will end with a state series, both sisters would love a shot at it. Effie said her goal this year is to win state while Maria already has finished 19th in the state as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second last year.
Cieplik certainly would like to see Maria get one last chance on the state stage after so much success at the last three tournaments.
But as good as the sisters are on the course, the coach appreciates just as much the way both work with their teammates.
"At practice they are trying to improve their game but they are also trying to help out every girl," Cieplik said. "Especially this year we are really young and they are trying to help them with their short game and any aspect of their game that they are unsure about. They are easy to coach and great leaders as well because they are very unselfish players."