Oak Park and River Forest High School junior Lucy Stein’s third consecutive trip to the IHSA girls tennis Class 2A singles state tournament was her most successful. Following trips to the quarterfinals the previous two years, Stein finished fourth this weekend at Hersey.
“I’m really happy about that,” Stein said. “That was my goal at the beginning of the year, placing top four, and I was excited to achieve it.”
Stein (34-4) won her first-round match 6-1, 6-1 over Andie Lawrence of Highland Park. Then she blanked Jhena Emnace of Schaumburg 6-0, 6-0 in the second round; defeated Shriya Ramesh of Barrington 6-2, 6-1 in the third round; and got past Ingrid Fielder of New Trier 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Stein faced York’s CJ Coan, who had defeated her twice this year. Unfortunately, the third time was not the charm for Stein as Coan won 5-7, 1-6, and Coan then defeated Marist’s Helena Klooster in the final to win the singles title.
“CJ is really aggressive,” Stein said. “It was definitely a tough match. But I played really well in the first set and really pushed her. Hopefully, next year I get to play her again and maybe come out on top.”
Stein faced New Trier’s Julia Ludwig in the third-place match and lost in three sets: 6-2, 2-6, and 1-6.
“I definitely had a really good season,” Stein said. “I had a lot of fun with my team. And I’m really grateful for my coaches [Fred Galluzzo and John Morlidge].”
In order to get to the championship match next year, Stein said she’ll work on being more aggressive with her game.
“Touching up on my serve and coming up to the net more,” she said. “I’m going to work on those in the offseason and hope I can come back stronger next year.”
OPRF, which finished tied for 11th in the team standings with 12 points, also had senior Maria Clara Lau and junior Ava Lebovitz in the doubles tournament. They defeated Harper Powell and Lacey Foss of Rockton Hononegah 1-6, 6-0, and 10-3 in the first round, but lost to eventual champions Reese and Riley Lepsi of Wheaton-Warrenville South 0-6, 0-6 in the second round, then lost their consolation bracket match to Metea Valley’s Leah Liu and Lily Tang 1-6, 6-7 (3-7).
Boys soccer regionals
At the Class 3A DePaul Prep Regional final, Oct. 25, OPRF (18-2-2) defeated New Trier 4-1 for the title.
“It’s really special,” said OPRF interim coach Dave Bernthal. “I couldn’t be happier for our guys and how hard they’ve worked and played together for each other.”
Liam Moder had a first-half goal for OPRF, and Adrian Bondartsov (on a penalty kick), Peter Bondartsov, and Cole Grinning scored for the Huskies in the second half. Tyler Lacey, Evan Max, and Kingston Petersen each had an assist.
OPRF, which won this year’s West Suburban Silver title with a perfect 6-0 mark, faced Niles West in a semifinal of the Taft Sectional, Oct. 28, after deadline. If the Huskies won, they would meet either Lane Tech or Maine South for the sectional title, Oct. 31, at 6 p.m.
“We expect a tough game. Any team at this point in the playoffs has earned their way to that moment,” Bernthal said.
In Class 2A, Fenwick (12-5-1) defeated Roosevelt 4-2, Oct. 24, for the Roosevelt Regional championship.
“To see the turnaround from last year and to see the drive and spirit of this team, especially our seniors who have led the way, is amazing,” said Fenwick coach Shannon Seymour.
Against Roosevelt, Luke Menacho and Nathaniel Sabatino each had two goals for the Friars. Sabatino, Kevin Jancewicz, and Sean Bell each had an assist, and goalkeeper Dom Ballarin made seven saves.
Fenwick meets Fenton in a semifinal at the De La Salle “B” Sectional, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m. The winner meets Ridgewood or St. Patrick for the title, Oct. 31, at 4:30 p.m.
“We know that Fenton has a fighting spirit,” Seymour said, “and they’ve had a very successful season and are well-coached. We’ve got to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”