Girls tennis: Conant’s Strilich stays calm, captures another MSL title

Conant senior ace Katie Strilich’s Bookends Tour ended on a home court Friday afternoon at the Mid-Suburban League girls tennis meet in Hoffman Estates.

Three years after stunning the No. 1 singles field at the league meet as a freshman, Strilich — seeded first this time and still steady, still serene — netted her second singles title on the top court, defeating Rolling Meadows freshman and third-seeded Maddie Hrtanek 6-0, 6-0 in the final.

“Katie was naïve and unbothered as a freshman,” Cougars coach Matt Marks said of his three-time state qualifier. “Now she’s experienced and continues to be unbothered as a senior. She’s an absolute grinder who catches everybody by surprise.

“It’s an intangible skill, her calm nature in matches,” he added.

Team Conant’s tangible skills — from delivering well-placed serves to striking clean winners to tapping touch volleys — were on full display at the three-day tourney. Marks’ marvelous squad captured 6 of the meet’s 7 flight championships en route to 61 points and the first outright MSL title in program history.

Among the gaga spectators was the coach's 20-month-old daughter, Parker.

Barrington (46 points), which shared the league championship with Conant last fall, and MSL East champion Prospect (36 points) tied for runner-up honors based on their regular-season finishes and points accrued at the MSL meet.

Fremd took fourth, followed by Buffalo Grove (5th-place tie), Hersey (5th-place tie), Rolling Meadows (7th-place tie), Schaumburg (7th-place tie), Palatine, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates and Wheeling.

“It’s our time — our time to control the MSL and show everyone that Conant is here and here to stay,” said Marks, who also received flight championships from freshman Elyssa Rojas Kantcheva (No. 2 singles), freshman Raina Maranan (No. 3 singles), sophomores Nidhi Karekar/Advita Deepak (No. 1 doubles), Khrystyna Pivtorak/Noelle Koh (No. 2 doubles) and Dhruvi Jain/Avery Kestner (No. 4 doubles).

Second-seeded Karekar/Deepak downed top-seeded Fremd freshmen Stella Lee/Siya Mistry 6-1, 6-1 in the final at No. 1 doubles, avenging a 6-4, 6-2 loss to the Vikings’ top duo in a dual.

“Advita ran down every ball, and we stayed aggressive,” Karekar said.

“Nidhi volleyed well the entire match and said things to keep me positive,” Deepak said.

The pair needed two-and-a-half hours to beat Barrington’s Shriya Ramesh/Courtney Croll 6-2, 7-6 (5) in a morning semifinal. All four stayed back on many points late in the second set, exchanging lobs or near lobs and eschewing chances to crack overheads or punch angled volleys in summery conditions.

“We were more consistent than I thought we’d be,” said Ramesh, a junior who started the season at No. 1 singles, injured her dominant wrist (right) and then rested for two weeks before returning to Mike Byrd’s lineup at No. 1 doubles. “Courtney is more consistent than I am; I like to go for more shots. It was nice to compete and be able to play freely.”

Barrington seniors Katy Morris/Shreeya Gandhi emerged as the lone non-Conant championship entrant by topping Cougars Susan Liu/Thea Krachmarov 7-5, 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles final.

Other runner-up finishers in singles, in addition to RM’s Hrtanek, were Barrington freshman Enya Neagu (No. 2) and Prospect sophomore Riley Phillips (No. 3).

Hrtanek upset second-seeded senior Caitlin Kavanagh of Barrington 6-2, 7-5 in a No. 1 singles semifinal.

“Maddie,” RM coach Bruce Wedell said, “hung in there real tough, stuck to her game plan. (Kavanagh) is a big hitter, likes to rip shots.

“Patience paid off for Maddie.”

Strilich’s trademark patience, along with her abilities to track down Hrtanek’s powerful groundstrokes and attack the occasional short ball, proved too effective throughout the No. 1 singles final at Conant.

But Hrtanek stayed positive from Point 1 to match point, after which she ran — a la legend Billie Jean King — to the net to shake Strilich’s hand.

“Consistency and keeping the ball deep helped me today,” Strilich, a straight-A student, said, adding she’s working on adding more spin to her first serve. “I’m more focused on the court than I was as a freshman.”

The MSL meet’s other doubles runners-up were Fremd’s Kayla White/Thaswika Reddy (No. 2) and Barrington’s Kayah Burza/Audrey Kim (No. 4).

Barrington’s Kavanagh, Prospect’s Casey Brosnan and Fremd’s Baruni Soni took third at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles, respectively.

Doubles teams that finished third were Barrington’s Ramesh/Croll (No. 1), Barrington’s Isra Khan/Stephanie Yoon (No. 2), Prospect’s Sofiya Zheplinska/Nicolette Gusic (No. 3) and Prospect’s Erin Coleman/Sophia Zach (No. 4).

Players vie for state berths at sectionals next weekend.