When the area’s top two girls tennis players, Evanston’s Anastasia Goncharova and Niles North’s Michelle Bacalla, met in the Class AA Niles West Sectional final, it marked the third time the rivals had clashed in less than three weeks.
Goncharova’s 6-3, 7-5 win on Saturday inside the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center in Winnetka gave the Wildkits senior a 2-1 edge in the season series and evened up their high school, head-to-head record at 3-3. The match was played inside because of rain.
Of course, there is a chance Goncharova and Bacalla could meet in this weekend’s state tournament, which is hosted by several schools in the northwest suburbs. Goncharova received the second seed and is in the bottom half of the bracket, while Bacalla received a three-four seed and is in the top half. A Goncharova/Bacalla matchup could take place in the finals.
Goncharova will be heading to state with the momentum after she overcame right knee, right hamstring and left-shoulder soreness and fought back from a 5-2 second-set deficit on Saturday.
Despite surrendering the second-set lead, Bacalla said she took some positives from her loss to Goncharova.
“This was a better final than the one I had in conference (a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Goncharova), so I can see this as improving my game before state,” said Bacalla, a senior who lives in Skokie. “Even though it was a tough loss, it was a good loss. Kudos to her, she played exceptional.”
Bacalla also fell to Goncharova in last year’s sectional final after losing to Northside’s Nicole Roc in the 2015 and 2014 sectional finals. But rather than dwell on the past, Bacalla said she was looking ahead to state. She finished fourth last year, and said she’s better prepared this year.
“I’ve improved from last year, the mental game and I feel like my serve has gotten a little stronger,” said Bacalla, an Iowa commit.
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Bacalla also said she is healthier than at this time last year, when she was plagued be tendonitis in both knees. Niles North coach Andy Klamm has limited Bacalla’s matches during the season in order to help preserve her knees for what Klamm hopes is a return to the semifinals.
“Everyone is so good (at state), and it’s who can execute on that day,” Klamm said. “But if we (Bacalla) didn’t make the semis, we’d be disappointed.”
Niles West
Though the Wolves didn’t have any state qualifiers, the team did finish 10-8 this year and featured talented underclassmen like freshmen Sasha Manojlovic and Lizette Calalay and sophomore Isabel Lodge. Plus, junior Shelly Sabaricos has another year of eligibility.
Niles West coach George Bravos said he’s expecting a productive offseason from that group.
“We’re starting to get a group of kids who realize it’s going to take some work in the offseason: taking lessons, getting in the weight room, working out and working on their footwork,” he said.
Leyden
Eagles senior Jessica Minkov defeated New Trier junior Lily Bhote 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Class AA Niles West girls tennis sectional before losing to Von Steuben sophomore Steffi Lao 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
“(Minkov) played great,” Leyden coach Bob Smith said. “She had a really tough first-round match. It was kind of a long match. Then, she had a 20-minute break and had to play the second round right away, which is always tough to do.”
Minkov won the West Suburban Gold title at No. 1 singles three times and placed second this year, Smith said.
“She had a really good season this year,” he said.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press