Lyons Township High School freshman Jessie Janiak entered her first girls tennis Class 2A state tournament with plenty of expectations. After her first loss of the season, Janiak showed why she and the Lions could be a force for years to come. She won her last three matches to capture fifth in singles and earn an all-state medal. She concluded with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over New Trier junior Ingrid Fiedler.
“I think it was a pretty good accomplishment. (I enjoyed) having my team there to support me through my matches. (Saturday) was really fun with the awards ceremony,” Janiak said.
“I thought I did good. In every single match, my opponents played well but especially in the fifth-sixth match, I had to work really hard to beat (Fiedler).”
There was plenty more to celebrate besides Janiak’s 29-1 season and 6-1 record at state. Junior Elise Novey and sophomore Chloe Owens (19-9) were second-team all-state in doubles with a top-12 finish by going 4-2 with two championship bracket victories. Senior Abby Sullivan (21-4) was third-team all-state with a top-24 finish and two consolation bracket victories. Senior Sophia Dalgety and freshman Lucy Fletcher (12-9) were 2-2 in doubles with two consolation victories.
The Lions tied for fifth (21 points) for their highest team finish in years.
“Top five, that’s an excellent finish for us,” LTHS coach Clint Buetikofer said. “It’s so competitive and for us to be in that upper tier is a really great accomplishment for the team.”
Janiak entered as the No. 1 seed after an undefeated regular season. Her biggest victory was the No. 1 singles title at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet in her first meeting against OPRF senior Lucy Stein, who was fourth at state in 2025 and took third Saturday.
All of Janiak’s state victories were in straight sets. Her loss came in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 to New Trier senior and No. 5-8 seed Julia Ludwig, the eventual state runner-up.
“A very long match. Honestly, she really was able to put the ball away better and she played really well,” Janiak said.
Janiak then beat two No. 9-16 seeds and Fiedler, also a No. 5-8 seed.
“I just had to be resilient and be able to bounce back from that match. I just moved forward and learned from my mistakes,” she said.
Janiak, who has played USTA tennis since she was 10, further impressed Buetikofer after he first heard about her arrival well before the season.
“I was actually impressed how she handled (the loss) very well. She was really about the prospect of placing at the state tournament and she was ready to go,” Buetikofer said. “I had heard she was really good. Once I saw her play a few matches, I was like, ‘Wow. This isn’t like a decent, good player. This is a great player with a lot of talent.’”
Novey, Sullivan and Dalgety made their first state trips last year. The doubles players each had partners who graduated. A No. 9-16 doubles seed, Novey and Owens are good friends and said they hoped to play together dating back to 2025. That finally happened on a regular basis about a month into this season. Things jelled quickly. At state, they handled their first two goals by being seeded and reaching the second day of play Friday. Last year, Novey was top-24 and 3-2 in state doubles.
“Super-happy with how we performed. My goal was to go at least one match further (than 2025). We went two more,” Novey said. “I think our energy and teamwork was the best I’ve had with a partner.”
Novey and Owens lost in the third round to Maine South’s third-place Emma Militaru and Kristina Nikolova 6-0, 6-1. They later lost to New Trier’s top-eight Annabel Kim and Zeyn Malm 6-0, 6-2.
Novey (soccer) and Owens (softball) agreed that playing their other high school sports have contributed to their teamwork and success.
“We were really expecting to do well and really wanted a good result for the team. But beating four teams at state was a really good accomplishment,” Owens said. “We’re both really athletic and that really helps with our defense. Elise especially gets to balls a lot of people wouldn’t.”
Sullivan equaled her top-24 state finish of last year but improved on her 2-2 overall record. Unseeded despite her record, Sullivan lost in the second round to Fiedler 6-0, 6-1. She then won twice, one by default, before a frustrating three-set loss determined by a super-tiebreaker – 6-0, 2-6, (10-5) to Conant’s Elyssa Rojas Kantcheva, a No. 9-16 seed.
“I’m glad I was able to give it my all my last run as an LT player,” Sullivan said. “A couple of things didn’t necessarily go my way but definitely an unforgettable experience and I’m really grateful for it.”
Sullivan had played No. 1 singles for the Lions the past three seasons. She was undefeated until the No. 2 title match at the Silver Meet.
“It was definitely hard to give up that No. 1 position but it was also nice to be able to do really well in singles at state,” Sullivan said.
Dalgety also finished on a high note after her doubles teams was 0-2 at 2025 state. Dalgety and Fletcher first lost to New Trier’s fourth-place duo.
As for the returning Lions, they already are thinking big thoughts for 2027.
“Especially because I’ve always been partners with a senior, with Chloe that means we get to play again (at state next year),” Novey said.
Nazareth tennis
The Nazareth doubles team of senior Elaine McNamara and freshman Madeline Pansing and junior singles player Isabella Gomez both were top-12 and second-team all-state in Class 1A. Both were 3-2 overall, winning their first three matches to reach the championship quarterfinals. In their quarterfinal losses, Gomez (23-8) lost to the state champion and McNamara and Pansing (19-11) to the state runners-up.
This was McNamara’s fourth state trip but first in doubles. She was second-team all-state in 2025 with a top-16 finish and 4-2 record after going 1-2 her first two trips. McNamara was at No. 2 singles behind Gomez but played doubles with Pansing in the season opener. The doubles players already knew each other because they play at the same club.
“(Pansing) is a very motivating partner and made the transition to doubles smooth. Our style of play works very well together,” said McNamara, who plans to play in college. “I set a goal at the beginning of the season to make it to state for the fourth time, and I was excited to accomplish this on the first day of sectionals. Every match after that I was able to enjoy it as my final season.”