2023 NewsTribune Girls Tennis Players of the Year

When La Salle-Peru tennis coach Aaron Guenther told senior Kaylie Reese and junior Elena Leone they were going to be a doubles team this fall, the pair welcomed the news.

“I was excited because I had gotten a lot closer with her, and I never played with her as a doubles partner, so I was looking forward to it,” Reese said.

They turned out to be a good team.

“I think we work really, really well together, and we’re good at strategizing,” Leone said. “If we were lacking in skill compared to our opponents, I feel like we made up for it with strategy.”

Reese and Leone won 14 matches, placed second at the Pekin Invite, took third at the Sycamore Doubles Tournament and came within one victory of advancing to the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament.

“We both had our own separate strengths that work together, which made us a strong doubles team. Elena was really good on the baseline and then I’d help up at the net. We were really best when we were in that situation.”

—  Kaylie Reese, La Salle-Peru senior

For all they accomplished this season, Reese and Leone are the 2023 NewsTribune Girls Tennis Players of the Year.

“I thought they played very well,” Guenther said. “This is the first year that L-P didn’t have a returning No. 1 doubles player from the season before [during my tenure], so they both knew that they were going to have to step up coming from No. 2 doubles for Kaylie last year and No. 3 doubles for Elena last year. I thought they worked really well together, and they did step up and had a great season.”

Leone said it was an adjustment moving to No. 1 doubles.

“It was definitely a lot different,” Leone said. “The competition was a lot better, but it definitely made me a better tennis player getting to play other good players.”

Reese and Leone took on the higher competition with complementary strengths on the court.

“We both had our own separate strengths that work together, which made us a strong doubles team,” Reese said. “Elena was really good on the baseline and then I’d help up at the net. We were really best when we were in that situation.”

They also worked well together in the mental aspect of the game.

“They know how to balance one another out very well,” Guenther said. “They’re both really upbeat people. They’re both very positive, so if the other one was struggling, then the other partner knew that they needed to come in and really try to boost them up and try to get them lifted back up to where they needed to be.”

Guenther said it took the pair some time to find its groove.

“You have that adjustment period at the beginning, especially moving up to No. 1 where you’re getting everybody’s best punch,” Guenther said. “They started off a little rough, but in the middle of the season is where they found their stride and they started stringing together a couple wins against some pretty quality teams. I think that’s what ultimately carried them into the success for the rest of the year.”

Reese and Leone showed their improvement at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational where they beat Morris after losing to the same pair earlier in the season.

“It was a redemption match for us, and we were really determined to win,” Leone said. “We had to play a tiebreaker and it was a lot of pressure, but we ended up beating them, and it was one of the best matches we’ve ever played.”

In the postseason, Reese and Leone advanced to the quarterfinals at the Class 1A L-P Sectional where they lost to eventual sectional runner-up Pontiac to fall just shy of a state berth.

“They played a Pontiac team that just came out and played some extraordinary tennis,” Guenther said. “Multiple coaches came up to me and said, ‘[Reese and Leone] is a team we really don’t want to see because we’re afraid of what they would do to our team,’” Guenther said. “I’m sure Pontiac wasn’t excited to play us either, but Pontiac just played an incredible match. They were just the better team that day. I think if you were to match us up on a different day, it would be 50-50. I think we’re just as good as that team but just didn’t have it that day.”

Leone will return next fall for her senior year with hopes of taking the next step.

“I hope to be even more successful and hopefully make it to state,” Leone said. “I’m going to do a lot of training in the offseason.”

Reese, who is considering continuing her tennis career in college, said she enjoyed her career at L-P.

“I had a great four years at L-P,” Reese said. “L-P is a really good program with great coaches and great girls who go out for it.”