Nationally-Ranked Player Joins Girls Tennis, As Impact of Former Teammates Sets In

Coming off its second 6th-place finish in a row at the IHSA state competition, the Lyons Township High School varsity girls tennis team has been practicing since Aug. 16 for its first match of the year—an away meet at Carl Sandburg High School, in Orland Park, Aug. 26—and for a season that may be an uphill battle. 

While the 2010 team is fortunate enough to return weathered senior stars Alexis Reisch and Madeline Barnabee, considerable gaps remain in the squad.

"We're losing Tina Harazin, who placed third in state, to Iowa," Coach Bill Wham said. "We lost Hadley Burke [to college], and we lost [current senior] Stephanie Eastman who moved to Florida. We lost a lot of people, but that's high school sports."

Along with Harazin, who took third place at state in 2009, the doubles combo of Reisch and Burke placed in the top 16 at the competition. 

In terms of losses, current senior leader Reisch agrees the dip in experience and the resulting influx of younger players will be an obstacle for the program.

Both Reisch and Barnabee responded to questions by e-mail.

"A lot of the girls are new to the team so there is less experience," Reisch said. "We have to figure out what everyone can do and how they play with other people on the team."

Though the team anticipates a solid year, improving significantly on last season's results seems to be wishful thinking.

"I hope we do as well as or better than last year, but its going to be a lot tougher because we did lose a ton of players," Barnabee said. "Everyone's going to have to step it up a lot."

While such inexperience appears to be the squad's Achilles' heel, the Lions are to gain a high-ranked freshman, Alexandria Chatt, who stands at 79th in the U.S. and 5th in Illinois.

"She's a nice player to have," Wham said. "She works hard, she conditions hard. She's going to help us a lot."

The team maintains respectable goals for the forthcoming season.

"We set pretty high goals for ourselves. We'd like to take first [in conference] but Hinsdale Central is always good," Wham said. "Practices and invites are building blocks. We have the idea that if we play our best tennis in the last 2-3 weeks of the season, then we're in business."

Reisch also holds certain expectations for the squad.

"As a team, we want to get everyone motivated," Reisch said. "Even though we're not as strong, we want to make the most of what we have and get everyone to work together."