WW South's Clousing takes fourth at state
A run of poor serving in the first set of Saturday's semi-final match in the state tennis tournament led to Keisha Clousing's first loss of the year and ended her singles title hopes for this season.
The Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore double-faulted numerous times early in the match and opened the door for Alex Chatt of Lyons to advance to the finals with a strong 6-3, 6-3 win.
Clousing lost to Hinsdale Central's Alex Solovyev 7-6 (10), 6-4 in the third-place match.
“I think I double-faulted 10 times,” said a disappointed Clousing after the semifinal match. “That was like giving her three games plus all the confidence in the world. Generally, I just couldn't get my shots over the net. Nothing was working at all. Alex played really well. All of her shots were on. She was hitting really hard and really well and moving me a lot.”
“I had no strategy for this match,” Chatt said. “I knew I had nothing to lose if she just went for it.”
Clousing led 2-1 in the first set, when Chatt won the next two games to take the lead, which she held for the rest of the match.
“Once I won the first set I knew I had it,” said Chatt, who qualified for state last year but couldn't play in the tournament because of an injury. “Keisha is a very strong player who usually doesn't miss. I was happy just to make it to the quarter-finals. I couldn't have imagined the finals.”
Lyons Twp. coach Dave Robare thought Chatt caught Clousing on “not one of her best days.”
“Alex really able to take advantage of that from the ground and moving forward,” Robare said. “She was hitting through the ball and hitting a clean ball to set herself up for easy put aways. Mentally, she's a very strong player and that gives her a big advantage in a tournament like this. “
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing knew her daughter Keisha was in trouble early in the match.
“She kept looking over at me and saying, ‘I can't feel my serve,'” coach Clousing said. “You just can't afford to give away two points a game in this type of match. I haven't seen her serve fall apart like that. I think it rattled her. In the second game, Keisha started feeling her game, but it came just a little too late. That was too bad because she was having a great tournament. But you know, once you get to the quarterfinals it's anybody's tournament.”
Chatt lost to Jerricka Boone 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 for the state singles championship.
Hinsdale Central continued to dominate Illinois girls tennis with its fifth state championship in six years, as Marika Cusick and Caroline Lorenzini won their second straight doubles championship with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win over Alysa Straub and Alexia Petrovic of Nazareth.
The Red Devils finished with 39 points. New Trier was second with 28. Wheaton Warrenville South was tied for fifth with 16 points and York was tied for eighth with 12.
“This feels amazing,” said Hinsdale Central coach Robin Kramer. “I was an assistant coach for many years, so this is the first title I've been part of as the head coach. “We had a pretty solid tournament. Cusick and Lorenzini were laser-beam sharp. They play good fundamental tennis. They always know where to go and each knows what the other's going to do. Most of all, they don't let the big stage get to them. Their focus is incredible.”