Palatine's Kawai impresses as Barrington clinches in MSL West
With a week and a half left before all 12 teams compete in the Mid-Suburban League girls tennis tournament, Barrington (14-5) hosted Palatine (9-12) for a divisional faceoff on Tuesday.
Barrington clinched yet another MSL West title by defeating the Pirates 6-1 in a matchup offering a potential preview of the conference championship matchup at No. 1 singles: Fillies junior Michelle Linden and Pirates freshman Asuka Kawai.
In the aftermath of the match, Kawai's teammates crowded the exit with their arms extended as she ran through a Palatine tunnel. Kawai (17-0) remained undefeated after notching a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
"I was hearing from other people that (Linden) was really good," Kawai said. "I practiced with my coach (Monday) and I got mad because every ball I hit wasn't going right. In (Tuesday's) match, my first and third game were horrible. I couldn't break her serve."
"I just was trying not to make unforced errors and waited for a chance. I know (Linden) will improve everything she didn't do (Tuesday) at conference and sectionals. I just have to practice hard."
Linden and Kawai traded games in a test that lasted nearly two hours. In the first set, Linden led 5-4 when Kawai found her groove. The Palatine freshman was nearly perfect with her corner shots.
Linden went down fighting. After falling behind 3-0 to start the second set, Linden battled back to win four of the next six games.
"(Kawai) is a good player," said Barrington coach Tracy Waters-Miller. "We knew by her play. (Kawai) has a really nice all-around game. Conference will be different for Michelle. We have a couple few ideas how she can get points. These were two athletic players that were fun to watch."
When the two switched sides, Kawai edged out the final game and celebrated with a fist pump.
"(Kawai) was on her game," said Palatine coach Dino Trinh. "There are still things to improve, but I'm pretty sure she'll be No. 1 in conference."
Before the stage was being set for a powerhouse ending between Linden and Kawai, the Fillies No. 1 doubles team of Anna Donoghue/Addie Hirsch notched a win over juniors Hien Lan/Cora Jacobsen 6-0, 6-1. No. 2 Barrington doubles tandem Paige Broustis/Nidhi Jha won 6-0, 6-0.
Other Fillies doubles teams registering wins were Sara Amano/Hannah Park, who defeated Pirates seniors Daria Zajac/Izzy Favela 6-0, 6-0. Barrington's No.4 doubles, Kayleigh Ruffalo/Hayoung Park, posted a 6-0, 6-0 win against Palatine juniors Bojana Crnomarkovic/Marian Nicolas.
Barrington senior Nos. 2 and 3 singles players Caroline Levy and Sanna Walia both won their matches.
Palatine will host Hoffman on Thursday, while Barrington travels to Schaumburg.
"It's always nice to get these wins," said Waters-Miller. "We played a tough schedule in the beginning and all of our girls hung in there. You can't take anything (in conference) for granted."