NT_091219

northbrooktowerdaily.com sports
the northbrook tower | September 12, 2019 | 51
Girls Tennis
North players ready to find perfect rotation
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
Peggy Holecek and her
Glenbrook North players
will do a lot of learning
this season.
The Spartans have a
lot of new faces on the
varsity squad with three
seniors on this season’s
team, leading the head
coach to enter a season
with more learning curves
than in the past.
But the head coach is
looking forward to the
challenge of a new roster
and helping them develop
into a strong players for
not only this season, but
also the near future.
“I think every time they
go on the court, they get
stronger and they learn
more about competing,”
Holecek said. “I know
a lot of them are new to
varsity so a lot of this
is a transition for them
and it’s a transition year.
They’re playing with different
people and learning
to compete at the varsity
level, which is hard.”
One of the major differences
between an experienced
roster and a new
one is how Holecek and
her coaching staff handles
practices. With an experienced
squad, a lot of
players returned to their
starting spots and worked
on drills and strategy
for matches. With a new
lineup, the Spartans go
through different lineups,
trying to find the right
pairings.
Holecek noted this mixing
and matching could
take place all the way
into the conference invite.
She’ll likely know her top
pairings heading into conference
matches, but the
lineup could be fluid all
2019 Spartans Schedule
Sept. 12 - hosts Evanston, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 - at Fremd Invite, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 16 - hosts Buffalo Grove, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 17 - hosts Highland Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 - at New Trier, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 - at Power 8 Invite, 8:30 a.m.
Sept. 24 - hosts Glenbrook South, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 - at Niles West, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 - at Prospect Invite, 8 a.m.
Oct. 2 - at Lake Forest, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 3 - hosts Fremd, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 - at CSL Conference Invite, 3 p.m.
Oct. 12 - at CSL Conference Invite, 8 a.m.
Online content
For the photo gallery
from the Spartans’
home dual on Sept. 4,
visit NorthbrookTower.
com.
the way until the end.
Senior captain Lara
Pick has already noticed
the amount of changes
the Spartans have gone
through just a few matches
into the season, but sees
the benefits for a young
squad.
“It’s been interesting,
especially considering
how our lineup has been
changed so often from
the very first meet, to
the weekend to our first
home match,” Pick said.
“It’s a new group of girls
because a lot of seniors
graduated but we’re doing
a pretty good job so
far.”
Part of the challenge
the Spartans will experience
other than finding
the right rotation will also
be adjusting to a new conference
division. North
moved from the Central
Suburban League North
to the South starting this
school year, forcing the
school to play members
of the South more than the
team had in the past.
Holecek knows the
challenges of playing in
a tough division like the
South where New Trier
has dominated the conference
for a long time. For
the head coach, switching
sides doesn’t change
much since she knows
both sides of the conference
are tough.
“It’s challenging,” Holecek
said. “It’s here to
stay and all we can do is
work toward being a better
team and competing
harder. I know regardless
of what side of the conference
we’re on, we’re going
to work hard.”
The head coach and her
team will continue to find
the right rotation as they
move through the season.
While winning is the priority
of every coach and
player, the Spartans know
that signs of progress can
go a long way.
“I’m looking forward
to them becoming more
confident on the court
and realizing how good
they can be and how well
they can perform,” Holecek
said. “We’ve seen
Glenbrook North girls tennis player Ellie Peskin returns a ball against a Libertyville
player on Sept. 4 in Northbrook. Photos by Michal Dwojak/22nd Century Media
Above: Maya Kononets
returns a volley.
RIGHT: Nikki Baerson
chases a ball in her
doubles match.
that a little bit and I’m
excited for the doubles
teams to gel and for us to
feel more confident when
we take the course for a
competition.”