Glenbard East's Allen back for more

As a freshman last year, Kolie Allen of Glenbard East made second-team all-state by finishing in the top 20 at the state tournament.

This year an improved and more mature Allen is poised to equal or exceed last year's outstanding performance.

Last Saturday Allen won the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division first-singles championship, and she goes into the loaded Downers Grove South sectional as a 3-4 seed with Caroline Maltby of Glenbard West.

The only two singles seeded above them are from defending state champion Hinsdale Central, top-seeded Isabella Lorenzini and No. 2 Sophia Haleas.

"Kolie has prepared so well for sectionals," said Glenbard East coach Bill Burt. "She hits with greater pace and depth than last year, and there's so much more nuance to her game. She has the ability to mix up spins and still stay on the offensive, and her serve puts pressure on the opponent."

Allen has made an impression on the national stage as well. She holds a high USTA national ranking in the 16-and-under category.

The 5-6-seeded singles players at Downers Grove South are Adeline Lang of Downers Grove North and Coco Tzakis of Benet.

Hinsdale Central also holds the first two seeds in the doubles bracket at Downers Grove South.

The duo of Erika Oku and Danielle Burch is seeded No. 1, and Sandra Keta and Stephanie Dolehide start from the second slot.

Benet's Allison Bartley and Katie Telford share the 3-4 seed with Molly Rueth and Molly Hughes of Glenbard West, while Theresa McMahon and Giselle Downs of Downers Grove North and Sarah Puz and Natalie Axelrod of Hinsdale South start the sectional as the 5-6 seeds.

Doubles play:

Waubonsie Valley is hosting a sectional tournament this weekend with a lineup that is made up entirely of underclassman.

And while coach Phil Galow is excited to have his entire crew back next year, he knows his promising young squad still has business to take care of this year.

The junior doubles team of Abigail Glavin and Serena Zhu go into the sectional with a No. 1 seed after finishing third in the DuPage Valley Conference tournament last weekend.

"They're the old ladies of our team, which is made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores," Galow said. "This is the first time we've had the luxury of keeping a girls doubles team together for a second year, and it really shows. They're building consistency and they're like twins on the court because they know each other so well."

Both girls are good athletes who can hit the ball well and this year they've added patience and finesse to their game.

"They had a tendency to try to get over points too quickly," Galow said. "Now they're taking their time, but they can still be physical and aggressive when they want to be. Their personalities also blend really well on the court. Abbey's a yeller, while Serena laughs a lot more. But they're good friends, and that works for them."

The Warriors' lineup this weekend also includes freshman Julia Chun at singles and the junior team of Eunice Lee and Devyani Potdar at doubles.

"We're hoping to win this sectional," Galow said. "And we'll need points from everyone if we're going to be successful."

The letter of sportsmanship:

Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth is impressed by the senior leadership that has been provided by twins Mikela and Hannah Gerdes.

The two, who will be playing doubles at this weekend's sectional with other partners, really get the idea of being there for the team, according to Bennorth.

"They're excellent captains," Bennorth said. "We were 22-3 as a team this year and finished second in our first year in the DVC and they've played a significant role in that success because of their tennis ability and because they bring so much to the team."

Last week the sisters topped off the regular season when they presented Bennorth and each member of the Wildcats varsity with a letter stating how much they enjoyed being their teammates.

"I'm so proud of them because they're wonderful people and they understand what high school tennis is all about," Bennorth said.

This weekend Hannah and her partner Adriana Mata go into the Plainfield North sectional as the 3-4 seeded doubles team, while Mikela and Hanna Beck have earned a 5-6 seed.

Neuqua singles Jessica Chen and Veena Murali are seeded 3-4 and 5-6, respectively.

Sowing seeds:

Former state champion Tiffany Chen of Naperville Central holds the top seed in singles in the Naperville North sectional. Samantha Choi of Wheaton Warrenville South is seeded second, while the 3-4 slots are held by Madeline Fidel of Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South's Katya Shcherbyna. Emme Lindquist of Wheaton North and Sally Litfin of Wheaton Academy are seeded in the 5-6 seeds.

The No. 1 spot in doubles goes to Naperville North's undefeated doubles team of Nadia Hussain and Len Zhu. Maisie Howland and Lili Bracy of Wheaton Academy earned the second spot. Third-fourth seeds go to Julianne Robinson and Madison Rea of Batavia and Megan Furukawa and Zoe Comerford of Naperville Central, while Sabrina Chow and Hannah Swarm of Naperville Central and Tamika Patel and Michelle He of Metea Valley are in the 5-6 positions.

At the York sectional singles McKenna Byrne and Abygale Ahn of Timothy Christian are the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, while Kelley Hodyl of IC Catholic goes in as the fourth seed.

The host Dukes duo of Alex Hennessy and Abby Brigman hold the first doubles spot, followed by Toni Paterno and Ellie Wiener of Timothy Christian.

Julia Riddle and Claire Meyer of York are seeded 3-4, while Danielle Beard and Maddie Monat of Timothy Christian start the sectional as a 5-6 seed.

At the Lake Park sectional the hosts have the No. 2 singles seed in Gina Odisho and the 3-4 singles Skye Palumo as well as the 3-4 doubles seed with Monica Mackey and Anna Wojtaszek.

Addison Trail's Gabriela Czerniawski and Pamela Kobeszko are seeded second in the doubles field.