Vernon Hills senior Paulina Masherava and junior Kamila Tymarskis were certain they could win a state title as doubles partners this season.
State qualifiers in singles last year, Masherava and Tymarskis believed they would be unstoppable together.
“We didn’t come into the season saying that we might have a chance to win state,” Tymarskis said. “No, we were very straightforward. We said, ‘We’re going to win state.’
“There was zero doubt that we’re going to do it.”
Masherava and Tymarskis made that clear to Vernon Hills coach Doug Gerber before the season.
“We were trying to convince him to put us in doubles,” Tymarskis said. “It would have gotten us more points in state if we both played singles because we probably would have played each other in the finals. But we were very determined, and he agreed to us playing doubles.”
Gerber is sure glad he agreed. Masherava and Tymarskis became one of the most dominant doubles teams in state history as they cruised to the Class 1A state title without losing a set all season.
Masherava and Tymarskis won each of their 27 matches in straight sets, including the state championship showdown against Deerfield’s Maya Krasny and Jordan Cohen.
Gerber has been Vernon Hills’ coach since the school opened in 2000. Has he ever witnessed anything like this?
“The answer is no,” he said.
The state championship also is the first in program history. That reality hit Gerber after Masherava and Tymarskis beat Krasny and Cohen 6-2, 6-4 for the title in Arlington Heights on Oct. 25.
“There was a little bit of disbelief,” Gerber said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m still in awe that we were able to go through the season this way because I know this doesn’t happen all the time.”
Masherava and Tymarskis reacted like they saw it coming, so the attention has come as a surprise to them.
“I didn’t think it was a very big deal at the beginning,” Masherava said. “But people are saying how it’s such a great accomplishment. I just have never gotten so much recognition for winning a tournament. It definitely feels good, but it’s a little weird. I didn’t think winning state would be in newspapers and articles and we’d be getting interviewed.”
Tymarskis agreed the spotlight is unexpected.
“I’m just used to playing in so many matches that it just kind of felt like another weekend, another tournament,” she said. “But it’s been pretty cool to put in all that hard work and then get the recognition and congratulations.”
Masherava and Tymarskis entered the season as two of the best singles players in the state. They had played a bit of doubles together during Tymarskis’ freshman season, but they agreed it didn’t feel quite right at the time.
“We played together, and it wasn’t good,” Masherava said. “We won, but it wasn’t our best tennis. We were both singles players at heart. We didn’t have the chemistry we do now.”
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Since then, they spent a prodigious amount of time practicing as doubles partners.
“It gave us some chemistry together,” Masherava said. “I’ve gotten so much better by connecting with Kamila and knowing her game, her knowing my game. We finally clicked this year, for sure.”
Their work wasn’t limited to team practices.
“They come to practice, hit there, and then they go and hit more,” Gerber said. “So this is no accident. These two work very, very hard at their game. They’ll play a match and then go train afterward.
“The work ethic was there, and I saw how they were working together and getting to be better double players.”
That time together has also made Masherava and Tymarskis good friends.
“We’ve gotten really, really close,” Masherava said. “We’re best friends, and we’ve just gotten so much closer.”
Masherava and Tymarskis talk about each other like sisters.
“Right after we met, we would hang out every day, and there was a point in the last few years when we were basically living together,” Tymarskis said. “If people know one person, it’s obvious to know the other person. It’s a really tight bond that I don’t really think we’ll ever break.”
Masherava and Tymarskis have gone to each other’s Thanksgiving dinners, they’ve gone on family vacations together and they’re even traveling to Lithuania with Tymarskis’ family next summer.
That bond brings out a unique strength that materialized during their state championship match. At one point, Masherava and Tymarskis appeared to be well on their way to an easy victory. They led 6-2, 5-2, with a 40-30 advantage in the potential winning game.
But then Krasny and Cohen found their rhythm, storming back to win that game and the next. Just like that, the score was 6-2, 5-4.
“A lot of it had to do with the crowd,” Tymarskis said. “Our crowd was not that big. They had a louder, bigger crowd. So it was kind of hard to deal with that.”
The momentum was on the other side of the court, an unfamiliar position for Masherava and Tymarskis, who had beaten Krasny and Cohen before without much difficulty.
“I was missing really easy shots,” Masherava said.
Tymarskis suggested they were focusing on the wrong thing.
“As the match got tighter, we were looking more at winning the match instead of just focusing on point to point,” Tymarskis said. “That was the main issue.”
Masherava and Tymarskis knew what they had to do.
“Once it got to 5-4, we were like, ‘OK, we’ve gone through this entire season without dropping (a set), and we’re not going to do it now,’” Tymarskis said. “So we really focused on point to point, on making a solid shot.”
Masherava and Tymarskis returned to form.
“When we get focused, it’s over,” Masherava said. “We destroy.”
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With Tymarskis serving, Masherava delivered the winning point.
“I was experiencing a lot of relief and also happiness,” Tymarskis said. “There was a lot of adrenaline going through my body during those last two games. So after it was over, I was like, ‘Oh my God. OK, we finally won.’
“And there were a lot of people that didn’t want us to win, so it was kind of fun to see them watch us win. They were really salty about it.”
Masherava and Tymarskis learned that winning a state title can be sweet.
“I knew we could do it,” Masherava said. “I wasn’t surprised. I was just excited by all the energy around me. I’ve never experienced a moment like that before.”
Sam Brief is a freelance reporter.