Girls tennis: Stevenson duo drops heartbreaker in state doubles final

Down a set and 3-0 to reigning Class 2A doubles partners Keri Rothenberg/Ariane Lesterhuis of New Trier in the doubles final at Saturday’s girls tennis state meet at Hersey, Stevenson seniors Abby Ma/Sophia Shlyakhta sat down during a changeover and looked at their coach, Izzy Balase.

Balase asked his pair of aces a question:

“What do you have to lose besides this match?”

The coach didn’t wait for a response, choosing instead to fire up his Patriots with an order.

“Go out there,” he began, “and show your teammates, your coaches, your family and your friends what you’re all about as tennis players.”

Ma/Shlyakhta then won 6 straight games to force a third set and nearly stunned the Trevians before falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in a stirring match.

“I learned that I can play under pressure,” Shlyakhta said. “Down 4-3 in the third set, about to serve, I thought I’d double fault a couple of times and lose that next game.

“I didn’t.”

Stevenson used Shlyakhta’s steadiness and Ma’s variety of shots to make it a match. Lobs and nifty slices from Ma — fifth at state in doubles last fall with then-senior and two-time 2A state singles champion Sarah Wang — often disrupted Rothenberg/Lesterhuis’ attempts to establish a rhythm and ride it to quick points in sunny, chilly conditions.

“Heck of a match,” Balase said. “Our girls never backed down. That tough semifinal they had (a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 defeat of Naperville North seniors Brooke Coffman/Gabby Lee) made them grow together. I could not be more proud of them than I am right now.

“Abby and Sophia,” the second-year coach continued, “are great kids with bright futures in tennis and in life.”

His Patriots — with only 3 state-qualifying entrants, 1 shy of the maximum — racked up 20 points to finish runner-up to New Trier (35) in the 2A standings. Stevenson juniors Emma Blass/Ana Sukovic went 4-2 in doubles, and senior Luna Bian won a singles match on Thursday.

Stevenson’s state finishes in the previous three seasons: second, third, tied for second.

The Pats’ last state doubles runner-up was Athena Kolli/Alaina Kolli in 2018.

Two other North Suburban Conference representatives stood out in 2A action this weekend, with Libertyville sisters Lena Dogadalski/Yuki Dogadalski taking third in doubles and Lake Zurich senior Katrine Boianov finishing fourth in singles.

Lehigh-bound Lena, a senior, had never qualified for state in doubles, and Yuki, a sophomore, had never played a state-meet match until Thursday. But they competed like been-here-before, savvy doubles mates, downing Naperville North’s Coffman/Lee — third at state in doubles last fall — 6-4, 6-3 in the match for third place Saturday.

“Both teams didn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Libertyville coach Dan Kiernan said. “Solid play. We matched up well. Our chemistry was good.”

Coffman/Lee’s first-set lead, 4-0, was very good. Down 4-1, the Dogadalski sibs didn’t get an earful from Kiernan during the changeover.

They received a soothing perspective from their coach.

“I told them, ‘Look, you’re not out of it. All you have to do is win two quick games,’” Kiernan said. “Lena and Yuki grew as a team today. They weren’t sisters out there; they were doubles teammates.”

Only three Wildcats doubles teams, including 1993 state champions Sarah Anderson/Marilee Boullear, had finished in the top three at state before the Dogadalski-squared run.

LZ’s Boianov, meanwhile, emerged as the highest state finisher in program history. Seeded 5-8, the four-time state qualifier edged 3-4 seed Lucy Stein of Oak Park-River Forest 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a three-hour quarterfinal before bowing to York senior and eventual state runner-up Lizzie Isyanov 6-1-6-3 in a semifinal Friday.

On Saturday morning, a banged-up, determined Boianov faced Fenwick’s Lily Brecknock in the match for third place. After losing the first set, 6-4, the LZ Bear thwacked a bunch of clean winners — including back-to-back backhand lasers, one crosscourt and the other down the line — at the end of the third set to force a clincher.

Boianov was down 1-0 in the third when she and Brecknock, the tourney’s other 3-4 seed, slugged it out in a six-deuce game filled with high-level, energy-sapping shots. Brecknock won that marathon and then the final set, 6-0, for the bronze.

“My shoulder was hurting, along with my back, and I couldn’t feel my legs because of (Friday’s) matches,” said a smiling Boianov, who did not blame any of the ailments for the loss. “I changed speed on my serves early, because my mind is always going, always thinking of strategies to frustrate my opponent.

“At the end of the second set, I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to trick my mind into thinking that nothing hurts.’ I battled, and Lily played very well.”

Saturday’s Class 2A singles final looked and sounded like a matchup on a college campus. Reigning state champion and Plainfield North senior Jessica Kovalcik — a Georgia Tech commit — faced Illinois-bound Isyanov.

Each had entered the final undefeated.

The match featured everything an avid tennis fan could ask for, from hard-hitting, deafening groundstrokes to scrambling defensive shots to sizzling swinging volleys. Kovalcik survived the dandy Duke 7-6 (6), 6-4.

“Lizzie played amazing tennis,” Kovalcik said. “She made me work.”

Isyanov trailed 4-1 in the first set when she called for a trainer to wrap her injured right ankle. She then found another gear, winning 5 of the next 7 games before going up 6-5 in the tiebreaker.

“You’re so locked in!” a York fan yelled as Isyanov held a set point.

But Kovalcik came through in the clutch, smacking an inside-out forehand for a winner to knot the breaker at 6 and taking the next 2 points for the set.

“It came down to keeping the ball in play and knowing when to play defense and when to get aggressive,” said Kovalcik, who worked on adding variety to her game and enhancing her transition shots and net game in the summer.

Reigning Mid-Suburban League champion Conant tied Lake Zurich for seventh place with 13 points apiece. Conant senior and 9-16 seed Katie Strilich concluded her decorated Cougars career with a pair of singles victories. One of her two state-meet losses was to Plainfield North senior and reigning state singles champ Jessica Kovalcik on Thursday.

“Qualifying all of our entries for state made a huge difference,” Conant coach Matt Marks said. “Every player was ready to compete from the first match to the last, showing incredible heart and determination.

“Katie,” he added, “set the standard for Conant tennis. Her determined mindset trickled down to the rest of the team, and that spirit was on full display at state.”

Benet Academy (37), Hinsdale South (31) and Dunlap (27) finished 1-2-3 in the Class 1A team standings.