Naperville Central ready to compete for state title

Updated: October 6, 2011 6:53PM

Naperville Central doubles team of Cindy Liu and Cass Goldner showed Redhawks coach Don Bonet that they’ll be right in there competing for a state spot at the talent-loaded Naperville North Sectional on October 15.

Liu and Goldner finished third in the Naperville North invite last weekend, but the reason for the coach’s optimism was how they battled in the semi-final match against Huskies first-doubles Kamile Stadalninkaite and Abbie Boswell, who won 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) and 10-5in the supertiebreaker.

Of course the Huskies duo, along with Benet’s two state qualifying teams (they both finished 12-16 at state), and strong team from Neuqua Valley will be among with those vying for those precious four spots for state qualification..

“There’s a chance our girls can make it,” said Bonet. “Because, as they showed against Naperville North, they can be strong on a given day. They were ahead 4-3 in the first tiebreaker but missed a key shot and couldn’t bounce back. Naperville North scored 14 points after that.”

Bonet is happy with the way Liu and Goldner have work as a team.

“Cass is a rare freshman who has a doubles mentality,” said Bonet. “She loves playing at the net and Cindy has great groundstrokes and does a good job setting her up. That’s their main strength, but Cindy is also much more comfortable at the net this year.”

Liu, a sophomore and Goldner, a freshman, must first take care of business this weekend at the DuPage Valley Conference tournament at Glenbard East. Liu will be at first singles and Goldner at first doubles with Edeline Chen.

If the doubles competition at the Naperville North sectional is formidable, the singles field is off the charts.

It will be a feat for anyone to crack the pre-sectional top four of Wheaton Warrenville South’s Keisha Clousing, who finished second in state last year as a freshman and Emma Li, and Benet’s qualifying singles Cassie Kovach and Leah Tzakis.

That makes it tough for a darkhorse to advance to state.

But, wait. Don’t forget Kelsey Chin, Metea Valley’s junior who went to state last year from the same sectional.

Chin is a steady, well-rounded player who can cover the court. She has great groundstrokes and volleys, and she’s strong at the net.

“If Kelsey can stick to her strength and not try to outhit everybody, she will do well.” said Metea Valley coach Karly Olson. “The sectional competition is tough, but Kelsey is healthy and ready to go.”

Neuqua Valley freshman Anusha Pai has been a revelation for the Wildcats this season.

She has been undefeated in conference at two-singles and holding her own on weekends against some of the area’s top competition at first singles.

“Her concentration and focus are remarkable for a freshman,” said Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth. “She never gets ruffled. If something is wrong she’ll figure it out and goes and fix it. Her future is really bright because she has tremendous maturity and a good work ethic. She’s really been coming on as the season progresses.”

A dose of tenacity has really helped Naperville North’s sophomore Julia Li and junior Karen Lu find success this year. The Huskies, who won last week’s third doubles flight at the Naperville North Invite, have improved because there is now a certain urgency about their play.

“They’re really fighting until the end to win,” said Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen. “In the past they would kind of have the attitude that it’s OK to lose, and they wouldn’t battle for the win. But now that they’ve tasted some good victories, it means more to them.”

Li and Liu have found that better communication has helped their doubles game.

“We work really well together and we encourage each other,” said Li. “After every point we talk about what we’re doing well and what we need to improve on. We’ve also been coming to the net and taking more chances.”

“Just having the experience of playing together has made us better,” said Liu.

© 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.