Scouting DuPage County girls tennis
Top teams: Hinsdale Central, Naperville Central, Wheaton Academy, Neuqua Valley, Timothy Christian, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South.
Top players: Benet: Katie Telford, sr.; Kendall Schrader, fr.; Downers Grove North: Adeline Lang, sr.; Kelsey Kunz, sr.; Glenbard South: Shelby Fritz, sr.; Nicole Campbell, jr.; Glenbard West: Molly Rueth, jr.; Hinsdale Central: Erika Oku, sr.; Meghan Guenther, sr., Olivia Oosterbaan, so., Mira Amin, sr., Carolyn Ahn, Fr., Jackie Ahn, sr.; Hinsdale South: Natalie Axelrod, jr.; Aimee Puz, so.; Agata Mikos, so.; Marta Mikos, so.; IC Catholic: Kelley Hodyl, sr.; Autumn Gage, sr.; Lake Park: Gina Odisho, jr.; Nina Pasquini, so.; Nancy Cozzi, so.; Alexis Belmonte, jr.; Metea Valley: Michelle He, sr.; Abbey Woods, so.; Stacey Wei, sr.; Stephanie Wu, sr.; Naperville Central: Jacquelyne Qi, fr.; Sabrina Chow, sr.; Zoe Comerford, sr.; Natalie Atkins, jr.; Allison Yuan, sr.; Naperville North: Kavya Rachapalli, so., Brooke Stensby, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Jessica Chen, sr.; Veena Murali, jr.; Hanna Beck, so.; Hannah Neuman, fr.; St. Francis: Alyssa Gulli, jr.; Maggie Henseler, sr.; Timothy Christian: Abygale Ahn, so.; Danielle Beard, sr.; Maddie Monat, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Abby Glavin, sr. Serena Zhu, sr. Hannah Owens,so.; Wheaton Academy: Sally Litfin sr.; Lily Bracy, sr.; Bethany Hoogerheide, jr.; Wheaton North: Madeline Fidel, so.; Emme Lindquist, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Samantha Choi, so.; Emily Orlove, fr.; York: Maja Shaw, sr.; Alex Hennessy, sr.; Julia Riddle, sr.; Melissa Cartis, fr.; Cate Duhig, fr.
Outlook: Most of the talk this summer among girls high school tennis coaches is about the new two Division setup and what the sectional assignments will look like. Division II coaches agree that it will be more difficult for their top players to qualify for state in what promises to be loaded sectionals that will send only 64 singles players and 64 doubles teams to state. On the other hand, some of the smaller schools are confident that their better players have a clearer path to state qualification because they won't have to face a lot of the Division II players at sectional. "It's hard to predict who will go to state because at this point we have no idea what the sectionals will look like," said Dan Brown, coach of defending DuPage Valley Conference champion Naperville Central. The Redhawks won the expanded and more competitive DuPage Valley Conference, then earned a sectional title and went on to finish seventh at state behind the now-graduated behind the great Tiffany Chen. Chen finished second in the state tournament as a senior after coming in fourth, first and then third in Illinois her first three years. The Redhawks will be right back in contention this year featuring outstanding doubles players in the state-qualifying Chow her regular season partner Atkins and Comerford. The singles lineup will be headed by a freshman as it was four years ago by Chen. Qi comes in with a ton of USTA experience and an impressive ranking. "It helps everyone to have someone come in and take the No. 1 singles," said Brown. "It puts everyone in a better position." Yuan is a solid vet who could move in at singles or doubles. The Redhawks hope to repeat as conference champs and they would like to send two doubles teams to state. Last year's DVC competitors Neuqua Valley and Naperville North will be challenging again, but look for Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North to compete for positions in the top-three. While the Metea Valley and Lake Park programs are on the upswing and hoping to break into the first division. Neuqua Valley, which went from Upstate Eight perennial champ to DVC contender last year, has another strong squad that will give the Redhawks a run. Chen finished in the top 32 at singles, while Beck was part of a doubles team that made it to the top 48 at state. Murali just missed qualifying for state Neuman is one of the top freshmen in DuPage County. "Playing in a competitive conference like the DVC makes it a lot of fun," said Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth. "We will be striving to win it but we have a lot of work to do." Naperville North, the Redhawks archrival , was young last year when it finished third. Well, those Huskies are talented, they're a year older and they like being the underdogs. "Finishing in the top three would be good," said Huskies coach Heather Henricksen. "We gained valuable experience last year and all the girls put in a lot of work in the offseason. This is a great group to work with." Waubonsie Valley returns a trio of state qualifiers including the fast-rising singles Owens, and the doubles of Zhu and Glavin. "They're both gifted, they love playing together and they work together very well," said Warriors coach Phil Galow. "This will be the first time in my 38 years of coaching that I have a doubles team that is working together for three years."
Wheaton Warrenville South will be led by Choi, who finished in the top 24 at state as a freshman, and this year's freshman star Orlove. "Sam's variety of strokes and her level of consistency make her hard to beat," said Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing. "And Emily has a strong mental game and a lot of poise, especially for a freshman." While the doubles spots are still being contested, there is good depth and experience. "We hope to be in the mix for the top spot," said Clousing. Put Wheaton North down as another serious contender with outstanding sophomore Fidel and three year all-conference Lindquist fighting for the top singles spot. "We have a pair of outstanding players at the top of the lineup and good depth and experience," said coach Eric Laird. "We should be in the mix for the top three." Lake Park led by Odisho and Metea Valley featuring the versatile He will be competitive in conference duels against the contenders.
Hinsdale Central, which won its fourth state girls title in the past five years while scoring the most state tournament points ever, 50, is once again favored to be up with the best even though the Red Devils suffered heavy losses from their championship team. "We're not making any predictions but we know we have a lot of good players," said coach Scott Radecki. "And we know we'll be the hardest working team in Illinois." While Lyons Township could challenge the Red Devis for supremacy in the powerful West Suburban Silver Conference, perennially strong squads like Glenbard West and York, and the improving Downers Grove North are left to fight it out for third place. In the West Suburban Gold Hinsdale South is definitely on the rise with bunch of talented returnees and a top-flight cast of young people joining the program. The Hornets main foe will again be Downers Grove South, a team of solid performers across the board but without a superstar.
DuPage County is the home of some of the top Division I teams in the state including Benet a small school that has consistently competed with the big teams. "A reasonable goal would be to win conference and the sectional that we're hosting," said Benet coach Michael Hand. Telford is a standout for the Redskins. Wheaton Academy won every position title in the Metro Suburban West, and with a smart athletic crew headed by Litfin and Bracy the Warriors should be well-represented at the state tournament. Timothy Christian and Glenbard South are among the elite in Division I. Timothy is led by a trio of stars in Ahn, Beard, and Monat who had success last year against teams that are now in Class AA. "We should be one of the top Division I teams in the area," said Trojans coach Keith Mills, who was voted as the IHSA girls tennis coach of the year. Glenbard South is another team that will vie for supremacy in the Metro Suburban. Fritz and Campbell are known quality players. Hodel of IC Catholic has qualified for state every year, while Gulli and Henseler give St. Francis a savvy doubles team that will be heard from in the postseason.
Key dates: Sept. 1: Wheaton Warrenville South at Wheaton North; Sept. 3: Downers Grove South Team Invite; Sept. 6: Lake Park at Wheaton Warrenville South; Sept. 8: Hinsdale Central at Glenbard West; Neuqua Valley at Waubonsie Valley; Wheaton Academy at Timothy Christian; Sept. 15: Metea Valley at Waubonsie Valley; Sept. 17: Glenbard South Raider Quad; Sept. 20: Neuqua Valley at Naperville North; Sept. 22: Naperville North at Naperville Central; Sept. 24: Wheaton North Quad; Sept. 26: St. Francis at Wheaton Academy; Oct. 1: Naperville North Invitational; Wheaton Warrenville South Tiger Doubles Invite; Oct. 7-8: Conference tournaments; Oct. 14-15: Sectionals; Oct. 20-22 State Tournament.
- Neil Shalin