St. Charles North's Koenen Eyes State Competition after Strong Sectional Showing

Shortly after defeating an opponent in two sets to get the IHSA tennis sectional finals, North Star senior Liselot Koenen sat down with her teammates, cheered a North doubles team still playing and read a newspaper.

This calmness shows through in her play. Rarely did she call out during her fourth round match against a Wheaton Academy freshman and her demeanor borders on business-like, even as she delivers a devastating serve or fires a backhand spin that stops the ball cold on the court.

But that confidence didn't necessarily come easily for Koenen, who played in her fourth sectional this past weekend at St. Charles East High School and will head downstate this Thursday through Saturday.

Even as she faced Bartlett freshman Jen Gates for sectional championship on Saturday, Koenen kept her mind focused on the "business." More than just the championship, this match met the difference between securing a sectional win for the North High School as well.

"I knew coming in she would be a very tough player," Koenen said. "I knew I had to stay calm and do the business on the court."

According to her, Koenen's senior year started out a bit more rough than she would have liked. Tournaments over the summer introduced her to a many tough matches and opponents she had not yet faced.

"Sometimes, you lose confidence in yourself when you're on the road so much, when you play so much," she explained. Because of that, and because she missed a couple matches through the year, she believed she had a "shaky start."

But getting back into her routine, and playing tough opponents like Burlington Central and Hindsdale (non-conference), shook her out of the early-season funk. A strong showing at conference and being in familiar territory again also helped.

"A lot of these people I've played, I played over the years," Koenen said.

On top of all the, her championship match against the Bartlett opponent also carried with it the potential for the team to finish with a first place win.

"Not that I like the pressure, but I kind of look forward for it because I like to help the team," Koenen said.

"I just really wanted to do it. After four years, this is what I wanted to give back to the team."