|  The 2015 IHSA Girls Tennis State Finals will unfold on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, October 22-24. The finals will be played at numerous high school courts throughout suburban Chicago (see sidebar on right), with Buffalo Grove High School serving as Tournament Central and hosting all Saturday matches. The 2015 tourney will mark the final year of one-class tennis in Illinois, as the tournament expands to two classes in 2016.
After tying for the team state title with Lake Forest in 2013, Hinsdale Central left no doubt a year ago, using a nine-point margin of victory over runner-up Stevenson to win its 15th state title overall and seventh in the past nine years. The title also contributed to Hinsdale Central’s record-setting year that set a new IHSA mark for school state success in a calendar year.
The defending champion Red Devils qualified the maximum of four entry positions (2 singles, 2 doubles) in the 2015 state tournament, a mark matched by six other schools, including Top 10 finishers from 2014 that include Stevenson (2nd), Lyons (3rd) and Edwardsville (7th).
Naperville Central, sixth in the team standings last year, welcomes back senior Tiffany Chen (above), the No. 1 seed in the Singles field in 2015. Chen won the Singles crown as a sophomore in 2013, but fell to eventual runner-up Isabella Lorenzini from Hinsdale Central in last year’s semifinals en route to placing third. If Chen regains the magic from 2013, she will be the 11th individual in state history to win multiple singles titles in her career.
Not surprisingly, Lorenzini is the No. 2 seed after placing second in both 2013 and 2014. Lorenzini fell to Chen in the finals as a freshman in 2013, and to since graduated Brienne Minor of Carmel last year after winning the first set of that championship match.
The Latin School of Chicago’s Alessandra Bianco is the No. 3 seed in her sophomore campaign. She reached the quarterfinals a year ago, before going on to compete in the semifinals of the consolation bracket. The consolation semifinals is also where the road ended for Palatine’s Asuka Kawai a year ago. Kawai earned the No. 4 seed at the state tournament this year as a sophomore.
Barrington senior Michelle Linden rounds out the Top 5 Singles seeds. Linden placed fifth in the state tournament a year ago, which included a head-to-head win over Bianco in the consolation semifinals. No. 7 seed Nicole Roc from Chicago’s Northside High School also reached the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket a year ago, while Glenbard East’s Kolie Allen and Niles North’s Michelle Bacalla earned the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, respectively, in their sophomore seasons after combining to win nine matches in the state tourney in 2014.
The Doubles field is one of the deepest in recent memory, starting with the return of the defending state champs in Stevenson sophomores Katherine Harvey and Vinya Rao. A repeat for the duo, the No. 2 seed in 2015, would mark the seventh time in state history that a doubles team has won two state titles.
Harvey and Rao toppled the Hinsdale Central tandem of Stephanie Dolehide and Erika Oku in last year’s championship. Both players return for Hinsdale Central, however, they will have new partners this time around. Oku and fellow junior Danielle Burich are the No. 4 seed, while seniors Dolehide and Sandra Keta are the No. 5 seed.
Despite all that returning talent and experience, the honor of the top seed in this year’s tournament goes to Glenbrook North twin sisters Catherine and Colette O’Regan. As sophomores in 2014, the pair reached the quarterfinals and went on to win another match in the consolation bracket.
Lyons’ seniors Stefana Vasic and Lahari Yelamanchili are the No. 3 seeded Doubles tandem. Vasic was one half of the duo that knocked the O’Regan’s from the winner’s bracket in 2014.
Maine South juniors Kamila Czosnyka and Marti Wind, the No. 8 seed, also have state tournament experience. The pair reached the semifinals of the consolation bracket a year ago.
New Trier’s Michelle Capone and Catherine MacKinnon (#6) joined Loyola’s Maggie Hines and Caroline Witkowski (#7) in rounding out the ranked doubles teams heading into the weekend.
| TOURNAMENT HISTORY
44th year of State Series
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Buffalo Grove High School
OTHER COURTS
Barrington High School
Conant High School
Elk Grove High School
Fremd High School
Hersey High School
Hoffman Estates High School
Palatine High School
Prospect High School
Rolling Meadows High School
Schaumburg High School
Wheeling High School
SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 22
All matches - 8:00 am *
Friday, October 23
Consolation - 8:00 am *
Championship - 9:00 am *
Saturday, October 24
Consolation - 8:00 am
Championship - 9:00 am
* Suspended matches will be played at a site and time TBA by tournament managers
LIVE RESULTS
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
TICKETS
There is no charge for admission at this event
BROADCAST
No broadcasts currently scheduled for this event
STUDENT SAFETY
Play Smart. Play Hard.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
#IHSA on Twitter
Twitter - @IHSAstate
Instagram - @IHSA_IL
Facebook.com/IHSA.IL
Classic IHSA YouTube Video
OFFICIAL STATE FINAL
Gear from Minerva
Photos from VIP
Balls from Wilson
HISTORY & RECORDS
2015 State Series
Record Book & Past Champions |