Benet takes home Class 1A state tennis title behind ‘special’ senior group

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – On a court after Saturday’s girls tennis state meet at Hersey, Benet’s Class 1A champion Redwings fell in unison, curled up and pretended to be asleep.

Cameras clicked.

The fake dozers laughed.

“It’s been a tradition for two, three years,” Benet senior doubles player Shane Delaney, now standing, said in sunny, chilly conditions in Arlington Heights. “It’s our sleep position.”

Benet’s collective performance at the three-day meet: caffeinated.

Paced by Delaney/senior Clare Lopatka’s successful defense of their doubles championship, the Redwings scored 37 points to capture the program’s first state title since 2016. Benet seniors Natalie Grover/Katie Jendra — seeded 9-16 in doubles — took fourth, and senior Meredith Converse and sophomore Lily Lopatka each went 4-2 in singles.

“Special group,” Redwings coach Michael Hand said. “Our five seniors created such closeness through the years. It’s not easy to describe, but this group of kids, the group of fine tennis players, played for each other with no drama.

“What a great way to finish the season,” he added.

Delany/Clare Lopatka had their rackets full in the doubles final, edging Chicago (University) sophomores Isabela Ji/Sophia Holt 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-5. After a well-struck forehand from Delaney forced a gentle answer in the 12th game of the final set, Lopatka punched a crosscourt forehand volley to the open court to end it.

“It was a good thing, the final being so challenging this time,” Lopatka said a year after she and Delaney didn’t drop a set in six matches en route to their first state doubles title. “It felt more like we deserved it.”

The Class 2A state singles final, also staged at Hersey, looked and sounded like a matchup on a college campus. Reigning state champion and Plainfield North senior Jessica Kovalcik — a Georgia Tech commit — faced York senior and Illinois-bound Lizzie 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.

York (18 points) finished fourth in the 2A team standings, with senior Josie Coan/sophomore CJ Coan contributing 3 wins in doubles.

New Trier (35) successfully defended its state championship, topping runner-up Stevenson (20) and Hinsdale Central (19), which was led by a sixth-place showing in doubles by junior Sydney Shuster/senior Abigail Gambla.

Asha Sarai (3 singles wins), Lauren Panveno/Sophia Virmani (3 doubles wins) and Kotryna Tomas (2 singles wins) also helped the Red Devils secure the program’s fourth state trophy in five years.

Hinsdale South (31 points, 6 fewer than Benet’s total) took home the runner-up hardware in 1A behind senior Chloe Goins’ singles championship. She defeated Chicago (University) senior Paola Almeda 6-3, 6-2 in the final, avenging her only loss in 2024 — in the season opener no less.

“Just tried to block out the noise (loud cheers for other matches unfolding simultaneously) and stay locked in,” said the Howard University-bound Goins.

Hornets freshman Addy Filipiak skipped to a 6-3, 6-1 decision in the match for third place, and the Hinsdale South duo of junior Hailey Goins/freshman Teodora Savic won 3 doubles matches.

Naperville North seniors Gabby Lee/Brooke Coffman finished fourth in 2A doubles, nearly matching their third-place showing at state last year. The pair of resolute Huskies lost a grueling three-setter to Stevenson’s Abby Ma/Sophia Shlyakhta in a semifinal before bowing to Libertyville’s Lena Dogadalski/Yuki Dogadalski 6-4, 6-3 in the match for third place.

Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore Riley Lepsi/freshman Reese Lepsi won 6 of 7 doubles matches in three days to take fifth in 2A. Their only loss: to eventual state champions Keri Rothenberg/Ariane Lesterhuis of New Trier in a quarterfinal on Friday.

And Timothy Christian senior Jane Carter got to celebrate more than her sixth-place showing in 1A singles.

She also blew out birthday candles Saturday.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241026/girls-tennis/girls-tennis-benet-brings-home-state-title-behind-special-senior-class/