Niles North senior Michelle Bacalla came in fourth at the Class AA girls tennis state tournament for a second straight season, finishing up with a hard-fought 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 loss to Emily Casati, a junior from Deerfield. Bacalla and Casati are offseason training partners.
“We’re great friends. (Casati) is great competition,” said Bacalla, a Skokie resident who has committed to Iowa. “We’ve had wins and losses against each other. We respect each other very much. She’s a great player.”
After the match on Oct. 21, Niles North coach Andy Klamm paid tribute to Bacalla, who earned second-team all-state honors as a freshman before earning first-team all-state honors the next three years. She finished sixth as a sophomore.
“We won’t see the likes of a kid like that (at Niles North) for a long time,” Klamm said. “We’re so fortunate she was a part of our program, and a leader of our program.
“You can see how she carries herself, and that all the other top players in the state want to give her a hug (after her third-place match) and hang out with her. You can see what kind of kid she is, and that’s irreplaceable for a program.”
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Trojans coach Keith Mills said the doubles team of junior Abygale Ahn and freshman Cassandra Lee may have felt the pressure of being the No. 1 seed in Class A at the beginning of the state tournament.
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But Mills said the pair seemed to get more comfortable as the tournament went along. After falling 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to Glenwood senior Anna Lytchakov and junior Medha Venigalla in the semifinals, Ahn and Lee bounced back with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Ottawa senior Katie McGraw and junior Ellie Gallagher in the third-place match on Oct. 21.
“We definitely got stronger (as the tournament went on),” said Lee, who lives in Downers Grove. “This is my first year (at state) and it was amazing to play with (Ahn) because she’s been through it. I got to learn from her and learn from everyone here.”
Ahn, who qualified for state in singles as a freshman and sophomore, said she’s anticipating making a return trip with Lee next season.
“I feel like hopefully this experience has led into our making sure we come back even stronger next year, and hopefully we have an even better outcome,” said Ahn, who lives in Western Springs.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press