Girls tennis season preview: Hinsdale Central, Stevenson, Conant among those trying to upend defending champ New Trier

The girls tennis season in full swing and several area teams are looking to make a splash at the state tournament.

Last season, New Trier captured the 2A state team title, with Hinsdale Central, Stevenson, Conant and Wheaton Warrenville South rounding out the top five. In Class 1A, Deerfield is looking to defend its team title. Hinsdale South and Vernon Hills tied for fourth.

Fremd has a deep and experienced roster this season, paced by three-time returning sectional competitors Stella Lee, Siya Mistry, Anya Shukla and Gunjan Mishra. Lee and Mistry won the sectional doubles last season, while Shukla and Mishra placed fourth in doubles. Freshman Shreya Hingmire is a player to watch this season.

“The team’s depth, experience and competitive mindset should make us a strong contender throughout the season and into the postseason,” Fremd coach Stephanie McClure said. “We have a really special group this year. Our depth is one of our biggest strengths.”

Neuqua Valley is a team aiming high this season. Standout singles player Jennifer Tang, a state qualifier last season, is the main returnee.

“The squad is looking forward to pushing their limits, competing at the highest level and delivering an exciting season ahead,” Neuqua Valley coach Carol Cairney said.

Palatine is returning Aisha Parikh, who lost in the qualifying round of the state tournament last year. Zoe Turner and Fiona Storey are also among the returnees. The Pirates’ strength should be in singles, with Parikh, Turner and Maria Craciun, while newcomers Tessa Peterson, Tori Velmont and Zoe Whetzel are slated to be key contributors.

“Aisha is a very hard worker and coachable player,” Palatine coach Christy Azriel said. “We have a great group of girls with a nice mix of experienced and new varsity team members.”

Hersey has a host of familiar faces combined with several promising young players, namely seniors Lindsay Bennett, Maddie Fee, Gabby Mirek, Sophia Negrea, Sydney Voicu to go with sophomores Riley Kalnes and Sofija Radakovic.

“This is the strongest team I’ve had in my five years, lots of competition within the team will only make everyone better as the season moves on,” Hersey coach Robert Murphy said.

Conant returns its entire “sectional six” from last season’s team, which finished fourth in the state — the best finish in program history. That group includes Khrystyna Pivtorak, Elyssa Rojas Kantcheva, Nidhi Karekar, Advita Deepak, Thea Krachmarov and Noelle Koh. The Cougars also welcome experienced new talent, including freshmen Ella Kestner and Alyssa Lee.

Prospect is looking to compete in the Mid-Suburban League thanks to the return of Teodora Lazaraova, Casey Brosnan, Calla Smentowski and Riley Phillips.

“Our strengths should be our overall experience, depth and versatility,” Conant coach Matt Marks said. “We have several players capable of contributing in different roles, and we are excited to see how the lineup develops throughout the season.”

Hoffman Estates senior captain Kayla Viktor leads the team, while top returnees also are Evelina Henning, Kaela Mina and Alma Hammad.

Maine South is led by three-time state qualifier Kristina Nikolova, senior Megi Stoyanova and sophomore Maya Vezentan.

Schaumburg lost a number of starters from last year's strong team, but welcome back a number of returning players, including seniors Klara Novak and Julia Vachout, both of whom played a significant amount of singles last year. In addition, senior Yashika Aduma and sophomore Alice Hwang are returning players who contributed quite a bit to last year's successful team, according to Schaumburg coach Seth Hanford.

IC Catholic has four returning seniors in Katherine Anderson, Lucy Cook, Lilli Castillo and Paola Michel. Anderson and sophomore Leona Carmello will be leaders at singles.

“I’m excited to see what they will accomplish this season,” IC Catholic coach Dina Barsotti said.

Timothy Christian is returning seven starters, including six all-conference players and three state qualifiers. Captain Laura LaBardi, state qualifiers Annika Lemkuil and Brooklyn Bunn are joined by Allison Tandy and Els VandenBerg and a host of talented newcomers.

“We will play a competitive dual schedule and compete in four tournaments, which will help us be prepared for the conference tournament and sectionals,” Trojans coach Rick McLean said.

Wheaton Warrenville South is one of the most experienced teams in the area. The Tigers return their entire lineup from last season’s fourth-place state team. The doubles team of Riley and Reese Lepsi are back and aiming for a second straight Class 2A doubles state championship. The doubles team of Kelsey Clousing and Priya Rozanski were second-team all-state and standout Anna Ittersagen is back.

St. Francis has over 50 girls in its program this season, including several seniors. No. 1 singles player, senior Elle Steffen, is looking for a return trip to the state tournament, with seniors Maria Fassnacht Carmen Risdon and Cali Simpson, joined by junior Avery Strine and sophomores Nivi Raj, Karoline Szalek and Ava Greco.

Wheaton Academy is a team with potential to make some noise. First singles player Leah Hilde is a promising junior. Her sister, freshman Emma Hilde, is slotted to play No. 2 singles, and the No. 1 doubles team of Rachel Hayes and Claudia Gula are returning state qualifiers.

“Our team features excellent depth and will be able to compete with bigger schools deep into the lineup,” Wheaton Academy coach Joel Visker said. “After finishing second as a team in the sectional last season, we are shooting to improve that result.”

Aurora Central Catholic has a strong core of juniors and newcomers ready to be integral players. Juniors Nola Hollenbaugh, Kamryn Holubetz and Libby Hipp are the top players.

Glenbard West is returning three state qualifiers in junior singles player Kendall Mehta and senior doubles players Sammie Smith and Ella Gacek. The Hilltoppers bring back five of their top six from last season.

Lake Park has a roster with several seniors who played JV last season. The players expected to make an impact include Sarina Patel, Andrea Zhelyazkov and Neave O’Malley.

Glenbard South’s roster includes six seniors, two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen. “We’re a competitive group that isn’t afraid to work,” Glenbard South coach Michelle Getz said.

Hinsdale South welcomes back Class 1A state champion Addyson Filipiak and top 16 doubles players Teodora Savic. The Hornets are coming off a banner season in which they finished fourth at the state tournament.

“Our team consists of returning players looking to help make a statement for us this season,” Hinsdale South coach Courtney Bison said. “I’m really excited to see our program build off last season.”

York is planning on mixing its lineup to find the best combination early in the season. Enor Evelyn Kahl, a second-team all-stater in doubles, is ready for a big season. Ainsley William, Samantha Bhagavan, Adelle McAllister and captains Raina Dalal and Margo Williams are also returnees.

"I'm very excited about this group and the chemistry they've already built in the early days of the season,” York coach Kara Dollaske said. “This group is very supportive of one another.”

Batavia is off to a fast start this season with five wins in five matches. Singles standouts Claire Anderson, a state qualifier in 2025, and Sophia Garza are joined by doubles players Grace Warner, Charlotte Burns, Alex Angelov, Maddie Peterson, Avery Haney and Elizabeth Melvin.

“Our program has 70 girls out for tennis this year, which should provide us with plenty of depth on all levels,” Batavia coach Brad Nelson said. “Claire will be going for her third consecutive trip to state.”

Crystal Lake South, which finished 20-13 last season, is led by singles player and three-team MVP and 2024 state qualifier, Chelley Appelhans. Marissa Ulirch and Zofia Gorgosz are experienced returnees.

Cary-Grove finished seventh last season in the Fox Valley Conference, and lost nine of its 11 starters. But seniors Jelena Karlovsky and Anya Nordendgren return to lead a young lineup.

Jacobs is looking to improve in conference play this season with a strong group of returning second-year varsity players, including Dasha Kozlova, Isabella Williams and Emma Klisz. Two freshmen are also expected to make a positive impact.

“With a full schedule of nonconference matches to prepare, the team’s goal is to compete hard, earn individual wins and build momentum heading into the conference tournament,” Jacobs coach Georgia Redmond said.

Dundee-Crown is headlined by senior McKenna Fernstrom and sophomores Solveig Nelson, Eva Beutel and Grace Birkett.

“We do have most of our team returning with a few newcomers, so we have some experience coming back,” Dundee-Crown coach Yuto Tsukida said.

Libertyville’s top returnees are Yuki Dogadalski, Jasmine Fu, Sri Mukhopadhyay, Avalyn Pratt, Ana Milinkovic and Yelyzaveta Shchekaturova. Dogadalski, a two-time returning state qualifier, is among the top players in the state. The Wildcats finished third last year in the North Suburban Conference.

Mundelein returns a mix of experienced seniors, along with large contingent of sophomores. Alina Ahmed, Ashley Williams, Paige Scaramella and Abi Gora are the main core slated to lead the team.

Warren’s top players include seniors Mairelle Denise Pasco, Rameen Rakhangi, Alia Pyrek and Michelle Miedzinski and juniors Rheya Jaganathan, Greta Gerwig and Fiona Youngman.

Vernon Hills placed fourth in Class A last season, qualifying both singles players Bella Ugolkov and Emma Jazbutis and eventual state champion doubles players Paulina Masherava and Kamila Tymarskis. Bella Ugolkov returns and is joined by Anastasia Boots, Shresta Avadhanula and Evelyn Lai. Meera Davuluri and Kara Carido also bring varsity experience.

Antioch is hoping Taylor Bigelow and Heather Hummel can be key leaders and contributors this season.

Lakes has several quality returnees, namely singles player Mackenzie Steinke and doubles players Audrey Grazier and Bhavitha Chilakuri.

“We have a great group of players,” Lakes coach Bryan Plinske said. “We are a senior heavy team, which brings a wealth of experience.”

Wauconda, which finished runner-up In the Northern Lake County Conference regular season and tournament, is a vastly different team. The Bulldogs graduated eight all-conference players, but juniors Juliana Comacateco, Kaitlyn Tracey and McKenna Glotis are joined by senior Alyssa Ackerman.

“We enter the season as a young team with only a few seniors on the roster,” Wauconda coach Ben Volheim said.

Grayslake Central is looking to repeat as NLCC champions this fall. Standouts Peyton Hoffman, a three-sport star, is joined by Gigi John-Foder. Evelyn Smeaton, Melanie Lorenzo and Makayla Rowe are among the returnees.

Grant is led by junior singles player Emma Bradford, and seniors Emma Corbett and Neelah Johnson. The Bulldogs lost several key players to graduation, thus coach Max Boton expects numerous players across all four classes to fill the void.

“The girls work incredibly hard and are ready to stand toe to toe with any opponent out there,” Boton said.