Girls tennis: York’s Isyanov, LZ’s Boianov among standouts on first day of state tournament
Tennis rackets belonging to a pair of stellar seniors — York’s Lizzie Isyanov and Lake Zurich’s Katrine Boianov — were forced to lie dormant for nearly a year before the start of the 2024 season.
Isyanov had suffered a stress fracture in her lower back last summer, wiping out her entire junior season.
“I wore a brace for two months,” the Illinois-bound netter said Thursday on day one of the three-day Class 2A girls tennis state meet. “Pretty tough.”
Boianov rested her injured right shoulder for 10 months after competing in her third state meet last fall.
“Having surgery on it would have been risky,” said Boianov, who has known Isyanov since they were 8. “So I did red light therapy, home therapy, all kinds of therapy.
“I want to be able to play college tennis someday.”
Both played marvelous prep tennis at Schaumburg on Thursday, reaching the state singles quarterfinals without dropping a set.
Their former cobweb-covered sticks?
Free, finally, and more potent than ever.
Seeded second and undefeated in 2024, Isyanov skipped to two 6-0, 6-0 wins and a 6-0 6-1 triumph. Five-eight seed Boianov, meanwhile, cruised to 6-1, 6-1 wins in her first two rounds and then defeated Hinsdale Central’s Asha Sarai 7-5, 6-2.
Serving at 60-70-percent strength to preserve her shoulder, Boianov trailed 4-3 in the first set but broke the Red Devil’s serve twice in the last 4 games. The Bear’s fluid, deep groundstrokes helped her close out the first set.
“I lost some patience late in the first set,” Boianov admitted. “I was too excited, but, in a way, that helped me.”
She then struck a series of scorching winners from the baseline to take control in set two. Boianov held serve at love in the match game, ending the action with a clean, crosscourt-backhand winner to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal versus Oak Park-River Forest’s Lucy Stein, a 3-4 seed.
Isyanov played like a future Big Ten netter, constructing points intelligently and never hesitating to pounce on shots in or near midcourt. Next up for the Duke is 5-8 seed Ingrid Fiedler of New Trier in a quarterfinal.
“It’s good to be back,” said Isyanov, a consummate teammate who attended every practice and every meet and invite while her rackets hibernated. “I hit with my dad (Eugene) once I could. It was frustrating at first, because I wasn’t used to the pace and my footwork was off.”
What was on fire Thursday: Benet Academy’s team in the Class 1A state tourney. Three of the Redwings’ four state entrants — reigning state doubles champions and top-seeded Clare Lopatka/Shane Delaney; doubles mates Natalie Grover/Katie Jendra, and singles player Meredith Converse — reached the quarterfinals. Benet’s Lily Lopatka netted a pair of singles wins.
“Happy with our play today,” said Benet coach Michael Hand, whose squad sits atop the team standings with 22 points, ahead of Hinsdale South (18) and Dunlap (18). “Everyone scored important points and got some confidence going into Friday.
“Still a lot of work to do,” he added.
New Trier, with 22 points, holds a comfortable lead in the Class 2A team standings. Hinsdale Central (14) is second, followed by Conant (13), York (12), Stevenson (12) and Wheaton Warrenville South (11). Lake Zurich and Barrington are tied for eighth place with 9 points apiece.
Reigning Mid-Suburban League champion Conant collected eight state wins but only senior singles ace and 9-16 seed Katie Strilich can add points to her team’s total Friday. She’s scheduled to play a fourth-round consolation match in the morning.
Stevenson’s Abby Ma/Sophia Shlyakhta, seeded second in doubles, and 3-4 seed Lena Dogadalski/Yuki Dogadalski of Libertyville made quick work of their three foes en route to final-eight berths.
York’s other state entrant, CJ Coan/Josie Coan, nearly matched the dominance of Isyanov in doubles, recording a trio of 6-0, 6-1 victories to set up a quarterfinal test vs. Naperville North seniors Gabby Lee/Brooke Coffman, who are seeded 3-4 and took third in doubles at state last fall.
Reigning Class 2A state singles champion Jessica Kovalcik might have felt one bead of sweat trickle down her face during her run to another state quarterfinal. She lost one game in six sets.
Wheaton Warrenville South received three straight-set doubles wins from Riley Lepsi/Reese Lepsi and a pair of wins from each of the Tigers’ other qualifiers, Kaley McCabe/Lauren Morton and Brooke Ittersagen.
Naperville Central’s Sofia Olaru, seeded 9-16, upset Marist sophomore and 5-8 seed Helena Klooster 6-1, 6-3 in a Round of 16 match.
Hinsdale Central’s Kotryna Tomas and Red Devils duos Lauren Panveno/Sophia Virmani and Sydney Shuster/Abigail Gambla combined for seven wins Thursday to go with Sarai’s two.
Barrington’s Caitlin Kavanaugh won three backdraw matches after a first-round loss to Conant’s Strilich; Maine South’s Emma Militaru/Kristina Nikola surprised a 9-16 seed in a second-round doubles match; Waubonsie Valley’s Lydia Parranto upset a 9-16 singles seed in the Round of 32; Vernon Hills junior Paulina Masherava won her first two matches before bowing 6-2, 6-1 to New Trier’s Fiedler; and Downers Grove South’s Gabby David, a 9-16 seed, faces reigning North Suburban Conference No. 1 singles champion Hannah Halabi of Lake Forest in a fourth-round consolation match Friday morning.
In Class 1A, Timothy Christian senior Jane Carter — half of last year’s state runner-up doubles team with then-senior Crystina Lee — vies for a semifinal berth in singles Friday morning.
All Class 2A and 1A state quarterfinal matches and backdraw matches begin Friday morning at tournament central Hersey and other sites.