Girls tennis: Scouting Cook and Lake County
Here’s a look at what to expect this fall for girls tennis teams in Cook and Lake County.
ANTIOCH
The Seqouits lost 10 seniors from last year's team which finished in a tie for fourth place in the Northern Lake County Conference and seventh in a Class 1A sectional.
Returners are senior Erin Pasdiora and junior Aubrey Dickey.
"We want to finish in the top half of the NLCC," said coach Jamie D'Andrea. "We have newcomers and that comes with growing pains. That could have a negative impact on the conference dual meet but the girls should be ready for the end of the season. They should ready to take on whomever. We have 45 girls in the tennis program and more than half the girls will return next season."
BARRINGTON
The Fillies under first-year coach Mike Byrd are loaded with talent. Byrd's troops return 6 Class 2A state qualifiers which includes junior Shriya Ramesh who was a top 28 finisher in the state in singles play a year ago.
Other state qualifiers returning are seniors Katy Morris and Shreeya Gandhi, juniors Isra Khan and Stephanie Yoon along with sophomore Courtney Croll.
Senior Caitlin Kavanaugh returns with varsity experience.
Barrington was tied for first in the MSL with Conant, first in sectional play and 33rd in the state.
Newcomers attempting to break into a talent-laden lineup are junior Teagan Tuesley and sophomore Audrey Kim.
"We are strong enough to compete in the conference and look forward to the challenge," said Byrd. “We want to reach the top two spots in the conference and qualify as many as possible for state. We want to compete at all levels and be injury free for the season.”
CARMEL CATHOLIC
The Corsairs under Gina Borkowski return 1A state qualifier Serena Bhatia.
"The conference (ESCC) is always tough," said Borkoski. “We compete against 2A schools like Marist and Benet. We want to be top three in the conference and qualify 1 singles and 1 doubles for state."
CONANT
The Cougars under coach Matt Marks return senior Katie Strilich who was a Top 16 finisher in Class 2A singles play. Sophomore Khrystyna Pivtotak
was a top 32 finishers and the sophomore doubles team of sophomores Advita Deepak and Nidhi Kaneker.
Others back are Noelle Koh, Susan Liu, Dhruvi Jain and Navya Joshi.
Newcomers are sophomore Thea Krachmarow, freshmen Elysa Rojaskantcheva and Raina Maranon.
FREMD
The Vikings were 13-9 in dual meets, second in the Mid Suburban League and 22nd in the state.
State qualifiers back Alina Shvani, Kate Lee and Rachel Martin.
Returners are seniors Kayla White, Viviane Sklarczyk, Emily Pinto, Hannah Patterson and Elisa Nehls, juniors Diya Prem, Sahasra Simbardi, Anita Maddall and Sanvi Garlapatti, along with sophomores Gunjan Mishra and Mishka Ravula.
"We want to improve on last season's awesome season," said first-year coach Stephanie McClure. We have great returners and exciting newcomers to lead our program to great success.“
GRANT
The Bulldogs were 6-7 in dual meets and champions of the Spirit of Northwest Tournament in 2023.
Returners are senior Angelina Vavalle, juniors Emeri Oliver, Vani Patel, Sophie Leichuk and Vanessa Pendell.
"We want to be competitive and in the mix for the conference (North Lake)," said third-year coach Max Boton. "We want to constantly improve, have fun and embrace the benefits of an incredible lifetime sport."
GRAYSLAKE CENTRAL
Coach Charles Lawson’s Rams finished second in the Northern Lake Conference, third in 1A sectional play and 30th in the state.
Central will build around second team all-stater Sammy Patel.
GRAYSLAKE NORTH
The Knights have won the Northern Lake County Conference two years in a row and were 51st in Class 1A. The state qualifying doubles team of seniors Briana Pagac and Robyn George return for first-year coach Katie Cole.
HOFFMAN ESTATES
The Hawks’ top returner is Hannah Lee. Newcomers are juniors Elizabeth Norwood and Zarina Vitiuk.
"We have to fight for wins where ever we can get them," said coach Kenneth Harris. “We have a lot of young new players. We want to use this year gain experience and confidence."
LAKES
The Eagles were fourth in the Northern Lake County Conference and fifth in Class 1A sectionals.
Back for coach Bryan Plinske are seniors Sophie Bucko, Chloe Hogan, Sarah Herbst, Kaylee Anderson, Haley Easterburg and Ava Bell. Newcomers include senior Maddie Ryter, juniors Charlotte Romig and Ava Price along with sophomore MacKenzie Steinke.
LAKE ZURICH
The Bears return doubles state qualifiers seniors Summer and Tessa Fabsik and singles player senior Katrine Boianov.
The second doubles team of Addison Cundiff and Meera Ohri and third doubles team of Alexandra Fridly and Alice Pisoareuskaya are back joined by freshman newcomer Lara Boianov.
"We are in a very difficult conference (North Suburban)," said coach Andrew McCurley. "It is very hard to say how we will do. We should see some great matches."
LEYDEN
Coach Joe Hamilton's Eagles were 8-11 in dual meets and 2-4 in the West Suburban Conference last year. Returners are seniors Chantal Fyda, Olesia Kulinich, Elyann Monarrez and junior Vanessa Nwauwa.
Newcomers include seniors Olivia Irla, Julia Augustyn, Bianca Bencze, Victoria Kulinich and Alany Pantaleon, along with juniors Shefali Shah, Alison Briones, Jenna Rodrigo and Ayla Kousa.
"We want to finish in the top half of the conference," said Hamilton. “We have 68 girls in the program and we continue to grow. Newcomers gain confidence with the veterans to have success towards the middle end of the season."
MAINE SOUTH
The doubles team of junior Ella Raseta and sophomore Emma Willataru won 3 matches at the Class 2A state meet last year.
Twentieth-year coach Gerald Smith led the Hawks to a Park Ridge 2A sectional championship and a 24th-place finish at the state meet.
Others back are Charlotte Hartung, Megi Stoyanova, Lauren Geier and Alexa Zaskowski.
Newcomers include freshmen Kristina Nikolova Olivia Carvajal, Catherine Hartung and Ionna Tzotzolis.
"The CSL South is probably the toughest conference top to bottom," said Smith. “We look forward to competing against some of the top teams in the state. We want to improve every day and build a solid foundation tennis community."
MUNDELEIN
The Mustangs were 10-8 overall a year and were second in the North Suburban Conference.
Sophomore Abi Gong and freshman Ashley Williams are newcomers to the program.
"We have one of the top conferences in the state," said coach Gregg Winter. “Stevenson is the team to beat followed by Libertyville, Lake Forest, Warren and Lake Zurich followed by Mundelein, Zion and Waukegan. We want to finish in the top half."
PALATINE
The Pirates return seniors Autumn Johnson, Saheej Kaur, Kate Morgan, Emily Murphy, Samantha Salituro, Hina Shahid, Callie Swierczak and Grace Wan.
Sophomore Fiona Storey is a newcomer to the program.
"The MSL is a notoriously tough conference," said coach Christy Azriel. “We view competition as opportunity to improve skill set. We want to prepare for the conference tournament. We want to be competitive on Saturday invites and the conference tournament. Last year we were impacted by injuries and illnesses. We can be very successful if we stay healthy and focused. We have several seniors who are natural leaders who will help our younger players.”
PROSPECT
The Knights return Class 2A state qualifiers senior Kara Pescaru and junior Claire Zimmerman.
Returners are seniors Niki Gusic, Anna Lizma, Colleen Shute, Kendall Kocanda and Erin Coleman, juniors Sofiya Zheplinska and sophomores Casey Brosnan and Riley Phillips.
Newcomers are seniors Nalani Albrecht, Sophia Zack and freshman Teodora Lazarova.
Prospect hopes to improve on a third-place finish in the MSL, second-place sectional effort and a 28th -place finish at the state meet.
"We want to build upon the success we had last year," said first-year coach Patrick Weber. “We want to take the MSL East and qualify as many as possible for the state meet."
SCHAUMBURG
The Saxons under the direction of first-year coach Seth Hanford were seventh and finished fifth in a Class 2A sectional.
Senior Tanvi Shah, junior Jhena Emnace and sophomore Klara Novak are back for Hanford's troops.
"We compete in one of the best conferences in the state," said Hanford. “We relish the challenge it presents. We are excited for the great core we have returning. We have excellent veteran leadership and we want to build on a strong season from last year and build an excellent foundation."
ST. VIATOR
Fourth-year coach Mary Louise Blaney returns Brianna Santucci, Nicole Farry, Ainslie McKenna, Katie Somodi and Liz Schernerhorn to go with newcomers Chloe Weaver and Nell Banasik.
"We want to qualify some for state even though we are in a tough 2A sectional," said Blaney.
STEVENSON
The Patriots placed second at the Class 2A state tournament to New Trier with 20 points. Stevenson, 29-2 in dual meets, won the North Suburban Conference and were first in the sectionals.
Coach Iriz Balase returns state qualifiers seniors Sophia Shlyakhta and Abby Ma along with juniors Emma Blass and Ana Sukovic.
Others with experience returning are seniors Sasha Baer, Mariaa Berezovshuk and Maggie Kuang along with juniors Sonya Surya, Kriti Mohan and Carolyn Ryan and sophomore Emma Iwanowski.
Newcomers are senior Veronica Jia and freshmen Kylie Blass, Klaudia Jaowrski, Naisha Jain amd Luna Bian.
"We want to win conference and qualify all four for state and finish in the top three at the state meet," said Balase.
VERNON HILLS
The Cougars finished second in the Central Suburban North behind champion Highland Park last year, then fourth in the Warren sectional and 33rd at state.
State qualifier junior Paulina Masherva is back for the Cougars.
Others back are seniors Catherine Dinh, Julia Kubalkin, Marcel Reyes and Anya Sabharwal, juniors Maya Greenfield, Emma Jazbutis and Paulina Masherva and sophomores Anastasia Boots, Kara Cardia and Kamila Tymarskis and Isabella Ugolkav.
Freshman Shrosta Avadhanula is new to the program.
"We set goals for each match and we want to be competitive in the conference," said coach Doug Gerber.
WARREN
The Blue Devils were 16-7 in dual meets last season under veteran coach Vince Desecki, who is 319-100 in 23 years.
State qualifiers returning are senior Anastasia Radovic and junior Kamila Dobja. Both lost in three sets in the first round of the Class 2A state meet in doubles a year ago.
Looking for court time are seniors Ruby Lester, Sadie Sutz, Anya Jaganathan, Disha Dayalan and Maryam Naveed along with juniors Lucylar Chen, Elizabeth Dabney, Shelby Steggerda and Alexis Johnson and sophomore Michelle Miedzinski.
Freshmen include Rheya Jaganathan, Greta Gerwig and Fiona Youngmen
WAUCONDA
Coach Ben Volheim’s Bulldogs won only 1 dual meet in 2021 and 2022. Volheim's troops improved to 6 wins in dual meets in 2023.
Wauconda boasts one of the best singles players in the NLCC in Tessa Davis. Other returners are Krisha Kordia, Ella Ciaburri, Reese Chipchase, Kelsey Mayden and Raegen Mohr.
Newcomers are seniors Joclyn Sieler and juniors Kara Harris, Bailey Peloquin, Kassidy Pickup and Mary Robinson.
“We are the fifth smallest 2A school in the state," said Volheim. “We put an extra emphasis on the conference and making waves in the conference tournament. Grayslake North, Grayslake Central and Lakes are the early favorites. GLC is the returning champ. Tessa could be one of the top singles player in the conference."