Girls tennis: Scouting Fox Valley
The DuKane Conference is primed for another strong season in girls tennis action this fall.
Batavia is looking to build off last season's memorable run, which included a second consecutive conference championship and a second-place finish at sectionals. Overall, the Bulldogs made the most of the shortened 2020 season, winning all 21 dual matches and qualifying three to the state tournament.
The Bulldogs return a wealth of talent, most notably the stellar doubles duo of Leah Puttin and Bella Lins. Puttin and Lins qualified for state, finishing with a 23-4 record at No. 1 doubles. Puttin sports an 89-24 record, while Lins has a 75-9 mark.
Dhruthi Daggubati is back after a 22-0 record at No. 3 singles last season that included a conference title. Senior Isabella Helm recorded a 13-0 record last season.
"It's a great group of kids and I'm looking forward to see what they can accomplish this season in a very competitive conference," Batavia coach Brad Nelson said.
Geneva welcomes back some experience in juniors Katelyn Baer and Annabelle Karch along with sophomore Aashika Jain, while sophomore newcomers Anne Tomko and Lexi Meier have shown promise early this season.
"We're a young but athletic team with several two and three-year varsity athletes in the ranks," Geneva coach Zach Evans said. "We're looking forward to a very competitive season."
St. Charles North coach Sean Masoncup had to juggle his lineup following the graduation of his No. 1 doubles team of Tatum Settlmyer and Leia Papanicholas.
Sophomore Madeline Chaggaris showed tremendous promise in her first season, and slated to be a key cog in the lineup this fall.
At Kaneland, senior Evie Taylor and junior Anelle Dominguez are looking to expand on last season's success when they were named to the all-state team. However, both players are planning to play singles this season.
Junior Lexi Maberry is a player slated to become a bigger factor after being promoted to the varsity.
West Aurora had a strong showing last season, finishing second in the Southwest Prairie Conference West Division. Seniors Athena Ly, Lizzy Kuhn and Kara Fowler join juniors Delaney Bastian and Amber Braun and sophomore Jill Patel as the main returnees. Sophomore Kelsey Danner and Mia Malczyk are also part of the mix.
"We have a good mix of seniors, juniors and sophomores," West Aurora coach Bruce Fraser said. "Many of them have played a lot of tennis this past summer, so I'm hopeful that we will see improvement."
Rosary enters the season with a good mix of mainly juniors and underclassmen, led by the doubles teams of Sophia Cousins and Lauren Audrey Paschoud. Sophomores Emma Woodford and Laney Runde and freshman Isabelle Lagman provide Rosary with quality depth.
Jacobs coach Jon Betts said seniors Kaya Trumbo and Isha Desai are among the top returnees on his team vying for Fox Valley Conference championships.
"Although we lost a solid group of varsity contributors to graduation, we return a very decorated group at the top," Betts said. "Kaya and Isha each have Fox Valley Conference titles at second singles, second doubles and first doubles.
"They will be joined, notably by freshman Kylie Cohn. This strong group of four will set the tone for the team playing in the top positions. We're excited to see the growth our team makes throughout the season as we look to keep pace with the conference's top teams."