advertisement

Girls tennis: Conant’s Koh, Karekar sting opponents at Fremd invite

As Conant juniors Noelle Koh and Nidhi Karekar fielded questions after a dual meet at Saturday’s Fremd girls tennis invite, a bee flitted and then hovered near the Cougars.

Koh backed up abruptly. Karekar shifted quickly to her left.

“No,” they said in unison when asked if they had been stung at the eight-team tournament held at Fremd and Hoffman Estates.

Conant’s netters had taken care of the stinging business via zippy groundstrokes and put-away volleys on the courts, successfully defending their title with a 3-0 dual-meet record.

And coach Matt Marks’ crew topped the field without the services — and without other parts of their reliable tennis games — of four Cougars.

“Excused absences, all of them,” Marks said, referring to two with illnesses, one who took the ACT, and another who had a family obligation.

“I loved giving other players opportunities to compete at a meet like this early in the season.”

Conant, seventh at last fall’s Class 2A meet, defeated Fenwick 4-1, Libertyville 3-2 and St. Charles East 4-1.

Each of those opponents finished with a 2-1 dual record Saturday. Schaumburg, Fremd and Loyola Academy each went 1-2, and Hersey lost thrice.

Libertyville junior Yuki Dogadalski — half of last year’s third-place Class 2A doubles team, with sister Lena (Class of 2025) — won thrice at No. 1 singles without dropping a set in chilly, October-ish conditions Saturday.

“Yuki is more at home in singles,” said Wildcats coach Dan Kiernan. “She’s always been strong from the baseline, and her groundstrokes are harder, deeper. This year she’s trying to be more aggressive, come forward more often. It’s a work in progress.”

The most evenly matched contest at No. 1 singles featured Schaumburg senior Jhena Emnace and St. Charles East senior lefty Kelsey Jacob in Round 2. Jacob — a three-time state qualifier — trailed 7-5, 5-4 but knotted it quickly by holding serve at love.

Emnace, a two-time badminton state qualifier and one-time tennis state qualifier, then held at love and won the next 3 points on Jacob’s serve. The Saxon clinched the 7-5, 7-5 win two points later.

“I did not want to play a tiebreaker (in lieu of a third set),” said Emnace, who blasted an ace and an inside-out forehand winner on consecutive points in the 11th game of the second set.

“Jhena,” Schaumburg coach Seth Hanford said, “strikes the ball cleanly and has tremendous footwork. She’s quite a competitor and a great teammate.”

Jacob made more than a few statements with her racket, pounding groundstrokes as answers to Emnace’s penetrating shots and hustling wide to keep points alive.

But Emnace came up big too often on the big points.

“Kelsey adapts well to her opponent’s game,” said St. Charles East coach Susan Bolin. “I saw good, competitive rallies.

“Kelsey,” she added, “walked away from that match having learned something.”

Fremd, under the guidance of Mundelein graduate and two-time state champion water polo goalkeeper Stephanie McClure, went 3-0 at No. 1 doubles using a pair of duos. Sophomores Stella Lee/Siya Mistry won twice, and Lee and classmate Anya Shukla defeated a Schaumburg entrant in Round 1.

Lee and Mistry, a lefty and admirer of retired lefty and 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, are handfuls from the baseline and net, respectively, but both have become better finishers near the net.

Foes still can’t relax when Lee takes her racket back from any spot along the backcourt.

“Stella likes to go for it, likes to hit groundstrokes for winners,” Mistry said.

Conant’s short-handed Cougars were likable, bee-dodging winners Saturday.

“We’re more focused this season on having fun on the court,” said sophomore Elyssa Rojas, who went 2-0 at No. 2 singles and 1-0 at No. 1 singles. “If we’re losing, we’re OK with that, because we all know we’ll have the support of our teammates.”

  St. Charles East’s Kelsey Jacob during the Fremd High School tennis invite Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Palatine. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Schaumburg’s Jhena Emnace during the Fremd High School tennis invite Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Palatine. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Schaumburg’s Jhena Emnace during the Fremd High School tennis invite Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Palatine. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Fremd’s Mishka Ravula during the Fremd High School tennis invite Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Palatine. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Fremd’s Mishka Ravula during the Fremd High School tennis invite Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 in Palatine. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com