Rothenberg, Lesterhuis are New Trier’s first back-to-back state doubles champs; Team repeats too

New Trier doubles pair Keri Rothenberg and Ariane Lesterhuis do not lose — at least not this season. And the 2023 state champions definitely don’t get steamrolled.

That quickly changed on Saturday in the IHSA doubles title match, when Stevenson senior duo Abby Ma and Sophia Shlyakhta ripped off six straight games against the Trevians to win the second set, 6-3. It was the first time Rothenberg and Lesterhuis dropped a set all season.

Their momentum built from the entire season lost, the Trevians needed to talk about it.

“We got a 10-minute break, and we called (assistant coach Donna Chudacoff),” said Rothenberg, adding that Chudacoff was attending a wedding that day. “… She was just positive, told us she believed in us and that we could do it and not give up. It was frustrating to be up 3-0 and lose so many goes in a row, but we had another full set to play. She reminded us of that, which was really helpful.”

Rothenberg, a senior, and Lesterhuis, a junior, regrouped and went back and forth with Ma and Shlyakhta in a 10-game slugfest Saturday, Oct. 26, at Hersey High School. The Trevians stole the momentum back early and won the race to six games to earn their second consecutive state championship with the 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 result.

Aside from a morale boost, Rothenberg and Lesterhuis brought a new strategy to the final set. With Stevenson attempting to push New Trier into long rallies, Rothenberg got more aggressive with her net play, looking to end points sooner and in her team’s favor.

“I had to realize that if I didn’t take the risk at the net the points were never going to end,” she said. “So I had to take the risk for the reward or we were going to lose some of those really long points that really mattered.” 

The change was crucial in the Trevians’ historic state championship win. Rothenberg and Lesterhuis are the only Trevians duo to win back-to-back IHSA doubles championships. (Megan Mawicke was part of two consecutive doubles championships in 1989-’90 but with different partners — Courtney Mill and Wendy Fix, respectively.)

Rothenberg and Lesterhuis gave New Trier its seventh doubles state championship overall. The Trevians also have three singles champs, the last of whom was Fix in 1992.

“It feels great. I was super nervous, so honestly I feel a little bit relieved that the tournament is over,” Rothenberg said. “I had high expectations for myself and my partner, because I knew we could win. But tennis is never a guarantee. … You gotta go out there and prove it. I am really proud of my partner and I and how we handled adversity in that final match.”

New Trier puts team title away early

The state tournament can be nerve-racking, but New Trier head coach Jerry Morse-Karzen slept well the night before the tournament’s final session.

While the Trevians still had three entries in action Saturday, they had already clinched a state championship, their second in a row.

“We have a very solid team that has played well this weekend,” he said. “Friday (Oct. 25) we had it clinched, which is a nice feeling, makes you sleep better Friday night.” 

New Trier compiled 35 team points, 15 more than runnerup Stevenson (20). Hinsdale Central (19), York (18), and Plainfield North and Wheaton-Warrenville South (14) rounded out the top five places.

The victory was the Trevians’ second consecutive state championship, the first time the program has accomplished the feat in 36 years (1987-’88). It is New Trier’s 11th overall state title, including one as New Trier West, and 10th state trophy in the past 14 seasons.

Each of New Trier’s four entries earned at least six team points. Junior singles player Ava Katz collected six with her 4-2 record, which included two 14-12 super tiebreak wins. Morse-Karzen praised Katz’s effort in her first state appearance and said she probably played the most tennis (time-wise) for the Trevs.

Freshman singles player Ingrid Fieldler earned sixth overall to collect a state medal. She won her first three matches to reach the quarterfinals and then won twice in the backdraw to advance to the fifth-place bout, picking up a total of eight points for the team.

“The quarterfinals as a freshman is a pretty big achievement,” Morse-Karzen said. “Wow, what a new addition and just a solid player.”

New Trier’s second doubles entry, senior captain Coco Zabel and Julia Ludwig, also won their first three matches to make the quarterfinals. There, they fell to state runnerup Ma and Shlyakhta, and then won once in the consolation bracket, earning seven points for the team on the weekend.

Like Rothenberg, Zabel was playing in her fourth state tournament and is a team captain. Morse-Karzen said the captains led a strong senior group that will be missed.

“Coco and Keri, and our other nine seniors have been great, not just on the court but off it,” he said. “They’ll be hard to replace. Keri, what a competitor; she just comes to play all the time, has a ton of energy. And Coco is so solid, just a real leader too. Just very thoughtful about things and how they should be done.

“They are also more invested in the we than the me.”

Katz, Ludwin, Lesterhuis and Fiedler are just some of the talent expected to return for the Trevians, who will be on the hunt for a third straight championship in 2025. But the 2024 unit certainly left their mark, coach said.

“It’s always nice to win, always nice to see the girls’ hard work rewarded,” Morse-Karzen said. “This is something they earned. They worked hard all season, knew that this was possible, but knowing it and making it happen are two different things. You always have to do it on the court and they did it. It’s nice to see. When hard work is rewarded, it often happens again.”

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