Libertyville's making the best of it

At first, she thought she'd be saddened. But with the season well under way, Libertyville junior tennis player Callie Klein can certainly live with her new role.

“It's actually kind of fun cheering my teammates on,” said Klein, who will miss this fall season due to recent back surgery, but expects to be back playing in January. Last year she teamed with fellow junior Dani Blaser to finish in the top-24 in doubles at the state meet, while Libertyville finished 33rd as a team.

“I'm technically now the manager,” Klein added. “Before every match, I rally the girls, we do our cheer, and I try to give advise, which I'm not the best at.”

Whatever that advice was Thursday against visiting Vernon Hills, it worked, especially for Blaser, who moved to the No. 1 singles spot and is more than comfortable after having competed in a host of singles tournaments during the off-season.

“I still miss her a lot and it's different not having her beside me out there,” Blaser said of Klein. “But it just motivates me more when I look over and see her cheering for me and the rest of the team. We want to do well for her.”

Blaser did very well, in fact, coasting past Olivia Jazbutis 6-0, 6-0, and help lead Libertyville to a 5-0 victory. It was the Cats' first dual-meet win against four losses against some stiff competition.

Blaser was clicking on all cylinders, especially with service with her blistering forehands cross-court.

“I just tried to be patient and consistent and wait for my opportunities and pick my spots,” she said.

Coach Dan Kiernan was satisfied with his team's play in all matches.

“Everyone played tough,” Kiernan said. “We're confident and will be battle-tested with the difficult schedule we have, so I'm pretty confident about our chances this season.”

Meanwhile, Libertyville's doubles teams present problems for any foe, as Kiernan has the luxury of using any combinations of players, all of who are more than capable of getting the job done.

Against the Cougars, the No. 1 team of seniors Gabby Struik and Mady Novak beat Vernon Hills juniors Isabel Kosoglaz and Leah Jacoby 6-1, 6-2.

Libertyville's No. 2 tandem of Sarah Broughton/Anna Mackey defeated Leah Dosemagen/Sneha Sivaram 6-2, 6-1. At No. 3 doubles, Libertyville's Arthi Sekharan/Megan VanDixhorn earned a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Sydney Pacer/Weronika Przybylo. Libertyville then put the finishing touches on the doubles sweep when the No. 4 team of Hannah Zurn/Madeleine Ryan handled the Cougars' Kathy Chen/Ashwini Deshpande 6-4, 6-3 in a hard-fought match.

The best and longest matches actually were postponed because the weather siren sounded and players were removed from the court for safety.

At the time, Libertyville No. 2 singles player Lauren Paulson and Vernon Hills' Jessica Tartakovsky were locked in a grueling match with the players splitting the first two sets and Paulson leading 9-4 in the third-set tiebreaker. And across the court, the No. 3 singles match involving Vernon Hills' Pavani Pandravada and Libertyville's Lauren Kosowski also went back and forth, with Pandravada winning the first set 6-4 and Kosowski up 4-1 in the second before play was halted.

“Our doubles have been pretty steady with players at the same level,” Cougars coach Doug Gerber said. “So we can use a number of combinations, which adds a lot of depth.”