Top-seeded Elizabeth Epstein answered every grunt, smash and chip from Hanna Mar on Saturday and became the first girls tennis state champion from Francis Parker.
Epstein defeated the Hinsdale Central sophomore 6-2, 6-3 in a lengthy battle between the championship’s top two seeds.
“It’s amazing. It’s a really good feeling, especially after getting second place last year,” said Epstein, who finished the season 33-0.
“I had a really tough semifinal match. (Highland Park’s) Julie (Flanzer) mixes up the spins really well. And Hanna was doing that really well today too.”
Epstein overcame a 2-0 deficit in the second set to triumph.
“It was tough for me to get something going,” said Mar (32-1). “I played a couple good points, but then she’d come right back, so it was really hard to get any momentum going the way she was playing.
“I was playing pretty well in the first couple games of the second set, but I wasn’t able to keep doing what I was doing well. I was having a little trouble with my groundstrokes. I was trying to keep them deep, but it was hard for me the way she was hitting hers. I felt like I was on the defense a lot.”
Hinsdale Central’s No. 1 doubles team of Courtney Dolehide and Nina Hamilton became the first back-to-back state doubles champions since Aurora West’s Natalie and Stephanie Matko in 1996-97.
The Central duo (33-0) defeated Barrington’s Kelsey Linden and Kristy Dodge 6-1, 6-2. They haven’t lost as a team in their high school careers.
“We picked the right shots and executed them well,” Hamilton said. “We bore down and closed it off. That gave us a lot of confidence.”
Linden and Dodge, meanwhile, finished 32-2, with both loses coming against Dolehide and Hamilton.
“I think we got a little nervous and kind of let them get a jump-start at the beginning,” Linden said. “We weren’t really playing our best. We had a few unforced errors, and they just made it really difficult for us to get going.
“They’re just great players and play really well together. They mix it up really well and just make it difficult to win a point off them. They know how to set each other up. They’re a great team, great competitors.”
Hinsdale Central cruised to the team title and set the all-time points record with 50, followed by Downers Grove South (27), Prairie Ridge (25), Highland Park (24) and Lake Forest (24).
Downers Grove South senior Katie Kargl beat Flanzer 6-1, 6-3 for third place in singles.
Kargl (32-2) was named the winner of the annual Tom Pitchford Sportsmanship Award.
Kargl finished her career with a 177-13 record, crushing the school record of 160 career victories by Christina Gogel.
“This [plaque] adds to an amazing day,” Kargl said.
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The court report
Singles championship
Elizabeth Epstein (Francis Parker) d. Hanna Mar (Hinsdale Central) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles championship
Courtney Dolehide-Nida Hamilton (Hinsdale Central) d. Kelsey Linden-Kristy Dodge (Barrington) 6-1, 6-2
Final team standings
1. Hinsdale Central … 50
2. Downers Grove South … 27
3. Prairie Ridge … 25
