A year ago, OPRF’s Lucy Stein finished fourth in Class 2A state, losing a tough third-place match in three sets. The champion was York’s then-junior CJ Coan, to whom Stein lost to in the semifinals, but Coan has decided not to play high school tennis this season. That leaves an opening.
“I’m not trying to put too much pressure on myself, but I want to make it farther,” said Stein, now a senior. “I want to do my best to make it to the finals.”
OPRF coach Fred Galluzzo said Stein gives his crew a bonafide championship contender. That’s always a good thing, but you have to look beyond her game to see her value to the team.
“She’s an enormously talented team player,” Galluzzo said. “I’ve been at this for 45 years. I’ve seen a lot of players at that level, and I’ve not seen a kid having as much fun as everybody else. She has become a literal team leader.”
But the Huskies have a lot of talent behind Stein. Senior Ava Lebovitz will play No. 1 doubles with junior Ella Rangsighienchai. Last year, Lebovitz lost in the second round of the doubles championship bracket at state with the graduated Maria Clara Lau.
At No. 2 doubles, you’re likely to see senior Sonia Gupta pair up with freshman Vivien Emanuel. Another freshman, Zoe Glennie, will probably play No. 2 singles.
Galluzzo said the biggest opponent so far this season has been the hot weather, which knocked out several practices and one meet.
“During tryouts there was a ton of rain,” Lebovitz said. “And the last few weeks it’s been hot and humid.”
Louderback shifts
Fenwick’s No. 1 doubles player, senior Emma Louderback, said the heat has been a challenge for her team as well.
“I don’t recall any other years it’s been this extreme of a heat wave,” said Louderback, who will team up with fellow senior Coco Braithwaite. “The past week, we’ve had a couple of practices get canceled.”
Louderback shifts from No. 1 singles a year ago to doubles, and she’s looking forward to the challenge.
“So far it’s been good,” she said. “I feel like it’s a different game, strategizing with another person, figuring out how to work together and definitely coming up to the net and finding opportunities to be aggressive there.”
Her coach, Ron Rogala, said the pair worked on their game a great deal in the offseason, which has gotten them off to a good start, winning the No. 1 doubles title at the Niles West Pat Grant Invitational early this season.
“I’m hoping we can build them a high seed at the sectional tournament,” he said, noting that the Friars will be part of the OPRF sectional at Class 2A.
Replacing Louderback at No. 1 singles was still up in the air at press time, with seniors Lucy Gruber, Meg Prabhu and Caroline Sheehan as candidates, along with sophomore Ada Ude, who won the conference title at No. 1 singles a year ago on the freshman/sophomore team.
No. 2 doubles could be Gruber and Sheehan, while juniors Riley Boos and Jane Steinhagen will also fit somewhere in the doubles cohort.
The Girls Catholic Athletic Conference will be tough, Rogala said. Divisionally, Fenwick is with powers Loyola, St. Ignatius, Benet, Nazareth and DePaul Prep. That might sound like “bad” news, but the good news is that the Friars can play with any of those teams. Case in point is a tight 3-2 loss to Loyola earlier this season.
Gray takes over at Trinity
Andy Gray is the new Trinity coach, and he’ll rely on two senior leaders to get his tenure off to a solid start. Those players are Maddie Chabura at No. 1 singles and Cherish Smith, who will probably split time at No. 2 singles with freshman Lily Aldape.
“I would say they lead by example and inclusion and making sure everyone is involved,” Gray said of the seniors.
That No. 2 singles slot should be interesting to watch this season, as Gray can tell Aldape has been playing for a long time.
“She is very consistent, remarkably so,” he said, “with her ability to use her feet to track down the ball and extend rallies.” As for Smith, Gray said she “moves confidently and makes her opponent play one more ball.”
At No. 1 doubles will likely be the senior tandem of Abby Flinn and Erin Hanle, who don’t have a lot of experience playing together, but have the strengths to play well in the doubles game, Gray said. No. 2 doubles could flip-flop with No. 1 with senior Mae DeGroff and sophomore Norah Espinoza, who played together last year.
Like Rogala, Gray said the conference will offer its challenges, and for Trinity, it will be matches against IC Catholic Prep and Montini.