Deerfield’s Alexis Casati overcomes weather, foes

Updated: October 15, 2011 8:20PM

While many tennis players would view Saturday’s 35-mile wind gusts with disdain, Deerfield’s Alexis Casati welcomed them.

“Its nice to play in the wind,” Casati said. “I kind of like it. The other person has to deal with it too and it is fun to have that extra element.”

Casati had little trouble taming the elements and her opponents on her way to the sectional singles title Saturday in Vernon Hills. Casati beat teammate Mindy Borovsky 6-1, 6-0 in the title match.

Earlier, Casati beat Stevenson’s Kaylin Dong 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals while Borovsky beat Stevenson’s Zoe Manion 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

Powered by its doubles teams, Stevenson won the sectional team title for the first time in 15 years. The Patriors were first with 31 points, followed by Deerfield (28), Palatine (12) and Buffalo Grove (11).

“This is a very young team,” Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope said. “We advanced our top four to state. It gives us something to build on.”

Stevenson’s No. 1 doubles team of Alexis Kiven and Kendall Kirsch won by default over its No. 2 team of Danielle Vasiliev and Gabby Demchenko.

Both Kiven and Kirsch, who are now 14-0 on the year, pointed to their 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 semifinal victory over the Buffalo Grove team of Lauren Goggin and Dana Goggin as a key to their title.

“They hit the ball harder today than when we played them before,” Kirsch said. “We had to adjust and we did very well.”

“We also played the wind smarter,” Kiven said. “It took a while to get used to it, but when we did, it was good.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.