Brooke Coffman and Gabby Lee made a great first impression on Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen.
She knew Coffman and Lee as singles players.
“They came in last year as freshmen and nervously came up and asked me on the first day of tryouts, ‘Coach, we were wondering if it would be OK if you looked at us in doubles,'” Henricksen said. “Typically, that’s not what you hear from two singles players that play USTA tournaments.”
Henricksen had to hide her excitement.
“I said, ‘Oh, yeah, let me think about that,'” she said. “I was more than ecstatic. I realized these girls had a plan, and they started setting goals early.”
Coffman and Lee were acquainted with each other but had never played doubles together and didn’t have much doubles experience before high school.
“We had both been doing USTA tournaments, and we’d seen each other there,” Coffman said. “We knew we were going to the same high school, and I think it’s fun to try something new. It was a good decision.”
Indeed, Coffman and Lee jelled quickly, finishing in the top 12 at the Class 2A state meet as freshmen.
They wrapped up their sophomore season at Buffalo Grove on Saturday by finishing second in 2A to become the first state medalists in program history.
“It was crazy,” Coffman said. “My goal this year was to hopefully medal, but after the first set of our semifinal match, I realized we could actually get to the finals. It still feels unreal. It is still sinking in.”
Coffman and Lee, who went 34-2 this season, were a 5-8 seed. They won their first four matches in straight sets to reach the semifinals, where they upset second-seeded Natalie Schoen and Abigail Lee of Deerfield 7-6, 4-6, 7-5.
Coffman and Lee were on the court for six hours in winning their quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Friday. The next day, they lost the final 6-1, 6-2 to top-seeded and defending champions Isabelle Chong and Lainey O’Neil of Lake Forest, but that did nothing to dull the sheen of their accomplishment.
“I’ve never been so incredibly proud, and I had to keep reminding myself that they are both still only 15 years old,” Henricksen said. “It was a great experience to get a handle on what that atmosphere is like.”
Lee said she and Coffman have great chemistry.
“Being in the same grade, we’re experiencing the same sort of things,” Lee said. “We had very little experience in the beginning as freshmen, but we continued to play together and got a lot of coaching, and we were able to grow so much.”
Neither Coffman nor Lee comes from a tennis background. Coffman played soccer in elementary school. Her mother noticed she wasn’t having much fun and signed her up for tennis lessons. She began competing when she was 11.
“If you had told me when I was 8 that I’d be playing tennis one day, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Coffman said. “None of my family members played tennis.”
Lee also played soccer and was involved in swimming and ballet too. Her older brother Nathan is a two-time state qualifier in doubles.
“I didn’t play a lot of tennis when I was really little,” Lee said. “I was really athletic, so I played a lot of sports. Then I found my calling in tennis, and I just started focusing on that more. And here I am.”
Coffman and Lee complement each other by bringing different strengths to the court.
“Gabby definitely has really good hands and reflexes,” Coffman said. “That helps, and I think my volleys have definitely improved.”
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Lee said Coffman’s personality is a bright spot for her.
“Brooke helps me get really motivated,” Lee said. “She’s kind of like a cheerleader.
“Whenever I’m feeling down for missing a shot, she’s always there to cheer me up and keep motivating me. It is definitely really helpful when you’re playing doubles to have a positive mentality.”
That’s not the only thing Coffman and Lee have.
“They both are fantastic singles players, but their tennis IQ in doubles, especially for their age, is incredibly high, and they communicate so well,” Henricksen said. “They do it with a purpose but also with a kindness.”
Coffman and Lee both want to play college tennis. But before they graduate, their goal is to validate the feeling Henricksen had when she first met them.
“I thought I had the potential to have a state champion doubles team on my hands,” Henricksen said. “It was a pretty cool moment.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.