Kaneland doubles team makes history

Lindsay Jurcenko and Amelia Napiorkowski made history when they stepped onto the tennis courts at Hersey High School on Thursday morning.

“We're the first people from Kaneland to ever do this,” Napiorkowski said of the first Knights' state qualifiers in program history. “This is a huge deal.”

Unfortunately for the Knights' duo, the Rosary tandem of Katie King and Angelina Goheen has plenty of shared experience at the girls state tennis tournament.

The Royals' three-time qualifiers were pitted against the Kaneland rookies in the lone match among area participants and captured all but three games in the straight-sets victory.

“After three years (of playing together), we know each other's games real well,” King said.

The rate of attrition among local entrants was quite steep on the opening day of action, conducted at 14 different northwest suburban locations.

None of the four singles competitors or five doubles partnerships remain in the championship brackets after three rounds of play.

King and Goheen won their second match to earn a date with Elana Woldenberg and Sarah Rabb of Highland Park.

In a close match, the Royals' top tandem fell for only the third time against 30 wins this season, 7-5, 6-3, and will have to fight their way back to the medal round via the consolation draw Friday.

“It was a tough match,” said King, who resides in Geneva. “We gave it all we had. That's all you can ask for. They were everywhere (on the court). It was hard to get the ball past them.”

Jurcenko and Napiorkowski earned the first point for Kaneland at the state meet in its three decades of operations in their second match.

But the Knights' trailblazers had their season conclude with a second-round consolation defeat at the hands of Danville.

“It's kind of hard because it's my last (competitive) match ever,” Jurcenko said of the loss to Emma Peck and Bethany Sexton. “It was cool to end my senior year this way at state.”

Jurcenko and Napiorkowski played as the Knights' respective first and second singles players during the regular season and had never collaborated until advancing out of the St. Charles East sectional last weekend.

St. Charles North senior Liselot Koenen was knocked into the consolation bracket as the result of a tough draw: the North Stars' sectional champion dropped a mere game in her first two matches, only to come face-to-face with Kristy Dodge.

The Barrington senior was not only a 3-4 seed but also played the match on her home court. Koenen fell in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

“Kristy Dodge is a very tough player,” St. Charles North coach Eve Tubman said. “To stay with her, you pretty much have to be flawless. That's tough for anybody.”

Batavia had one of its most productive seasons ever come to a conclusion Thursday.

Miranda Grizaffi won a pair of matches, but the sophomore was eliminated in a third-round consolation match.

Hannah Potter dropped both of her matches.

Geneva had its doubles team of Carly Asman and Claire Chlasta fall victim to the double-elimination format as well.

But St. Charles East and West Aurora survived the first-day gauntlet with its doubles entrants still battling.

The Saints' Erin Bowman-Claire Hafner partnership and the Blackhawks' duo of Haley Henry and Jin Lee captured four combined matches in the championship and consolation brackets to remain active in the back draw.

Emily Stefcancic won her opening singles match, but the West Aurora freshman was eliminated with consecutive matches in the following two rounds.

In the team competition, Lake Forest and four-time defending champion Hinsdale Central are tied with 22 points.