The Oak Lawn Girls Tennis program just had one of the most memorable seasons of OLCHS Girls Tennis history. For the first time in 17 years, the team was able to win the South Suburban Conference Red Division Tournament. The Spartans had a remarkable and dominant record of 11-1 and a 5-0 record against conference teams.
Head Coach Daniel Doyle said, “Winning conference was certainly a huge accomplishment for us, but even more outstanding were the individual accomplishments of so many deserving athletes. Jessica Komperda won first place in #2 singles for the second year in a row. The doubles team of Julia Bolcarova and Ghofran Ouarehni played so tough to win first place at #2 doubles. Their talent was on display, but, I think, they also were just mentally tougher than their opponents that the other teams were exhausted after playing them. The #3 doubles team of Hannah Leanos and Madyson Lane seem to smile their way to first place.
“I would walk away and by the time I came to see how they were doing, they had already won, picked up their gear and left the courts (always with a smile). I can’t say enough about the #1 doubles team of Eliza Janik and Haley Meskill. They really led our team into battle all year long. They took second place but not before challenging a dominant team that had not been challenged like that previously. Those two really brought this will to win spirit to our team. And I can’t say enough about our #1 singles player Camille Esguerra. She has played at #1 for two years in a row. What that means is that Camille has never had a break or a chance to relax. Every school has a #1 and her 4-1 record in conference was a testament to her mental toughness.”
Oak Lawn was able to dominate the competition by accumulating a total of 22 points to secure their conference win.
The success of the team was due to a combination of many things this season, one of which being confidence that the players exemplified. “The girls raised their games even more than their opponents expected. It was the girls’ confidence in themselves that really impressed,” said Doyle. “They not only have fun with each other on bus rides to matches during the season, but they believed in each other. I firmly believe it was that faith in each other that made such a memorable difference this year.”
This season Eliza Janik’s senior leadership left a lasting impression on the team. Her desire to excel was able to drive the team for success. Additionally, the team of Madyson Lane and Hannah Leanos was able to solidify the final points for the overall win of the conference tournament.
The girls tennis team also had a good run at sectionals, placing fourth out of 11 teams.
“Sectionals is always a tough time for us. The competition does ratchet up, but we proved our mettle there as well,” said Doyle. “We had two singles players (Esguerra and Komperda) reach the quarterfinal of Sectionals before bowing out against ranked USTA players.”
As many senior players will be graduating from OLCHS this year, head coach Doyle has started making plans for the next upcoming season.
“I think my plan is as always to get our team in good physical condition so we can last for a long three set matches at the end of the year. But how do we replace graduating seniors like Komperda, Janik, and Lane. Others will have to pick up the torch from those departing players. Luckily for us we do have capable, responsible players like Esguerra, Meskill and Ouarehni that should be our leaders”, said Doyle.
Overall, the 2024 girls tennis program ended with many great successes. This memorable season will never be forgotten.
