After going undefeated in conference, junior Caroline Ryba finished her third season on the South tennis team with a trip to state for the second year in a row. In addition, Ryba took first place at the sectional tournament to qualify for state.

Ryba has been playing tennis for seven years and followed in her older brother’s footsteps, who also played tennis. Ryba enjoys tennis because it takes a certain type of strategy.

“It’s an individual game,” Ryba said. “You have to rely on yourself.”

Ryba has been on varsity all three years as the number one singles player. From freshman year to now, Ryba has grown and developed so much, according to head coach Kathryn Nicolatti.

“She works incredibly hard,” Nicolatti said. “She plays [tennis] every single day, twice a day.”

Ryba leads the team at South through example, according to Nicolatti.

“I think it’s also great for the girls to see her compete, whether she’s playing a girl who is far less talented than she is or a player who is really, really competitive, she’s always even keeled,” Nicolatti said.

According to Annie Emme, a sophomore teammate of Ryba’s, she is a unique player because she doesn’t show her opponent any emotion.

Nicolatti agreed and said, “Watching her play you would never even know what the score was.”

Nicolatti also believes, because she has so much tennis experience, that she is a self-sufficient player on the court.

“She is used to having to figure things out for herself and work through them,” Nicolatti said.

She also shows a great deal of patience on the court by not rushing any points and letting them develop.

“[Ryba] has been working to become more in control of the point,” Nicolatti said.

A great win from this season was against Alex Solovyev from Hinsdale South. Ryba lost to her in previous seasons but came out victorious this season. Ryba went into the match thinking that she had nothing to lose.

“I believed I could beat her,” Ryba said. “It was close last time.”

After winning sectionals two years in a row, Ryba went into this year’s state tournament ranked number one. Ryba made it to the round of 16 in state last year and was able to survive until the fourth round this time.

Ryba has grown and developed so much over the past three years, according to Nicolatti.

“Every single year I just want to see her improve from the year before,” Nicolatti said.