College tennis: Mella's max effort leads to CCIW honor at Carthage
Carthage junior Max Mella had a perfect week on the tennis courts.
The Warren High School graduate was rewarded by being named women's tennis player of the week in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Mella went 4-0 while playing No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles against Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan.
She first teamed with Angelica Emmanouil to defeat Wheaton's Katie Park and Emily Jones (8-3), followed by a 6-4, 6-0 singles win over Jones.
Mella and Emmanouil then topped Illinois Wesleyan's Lauren Neitzel and Dana Dray (8-3), followed by Mella's 6-1, 6-0 win over Dray one day later.
Mella retained her momentum in the Lady Reds' next meet, when she won her singles match in straight sets to help the the team get wins over North Central and Millikin at Smeds Tennis Center in Kenosha.
Carthage now ranks third heading into the CCIW championships with a 6-2 conference record.
Women's volleyball
Rhode Island Layne Self (Lake Zurich) is making the most of her senior year.
Individually, she ranks third in the Atlantic 10 Conference and 40th nationally with 1.28 blocks per set.
She is also fourth in the league and 58th in the country with a .363 hitting percentage.
• Augustana senior Nicole Morrissey (Lake Zurich) led the Vikings with 9 kills in a three-set loss to Central.
Men's cross-country
Carthage sophomore Suneed Ahmed (Grayslake Central) paced the Redmen with a time of 26:59, which put him in 120th place out of 551 runners at the AAE Invitational in Winneconne, Wis.
The Red Men managed to register 26th place out of 37 teams at the AAE Invitational. North Central took home the team crown with 24 points.
Women's cross country
Augustana sophomore Laura McNair (Lake Zurich) placed 131st in 24:10 when the Vikings placed 23rd at the 36-team Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis.
The Vikings, ranked eighth in the Midwest region by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association, scored 613 points. Washington won the event with 94 points while Calvin took second with 113.
Men's tennis
Carthage's Pawel Jaworski (Stevenson) took second to St. Thomas in the doubles competition of the ITA Midwest Regional Championship at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Jaworski earned all-state honors his senior year at Stevenson on a doubles team that reached the IHSA state quarterfinals and the playback semifinals under coach Tom Stanhope.
Junior Lady Blue Devils
Tryouts for the Jr. Lady Blue Devils basketball program for girls fifth through eighth grade residing in Warren Township's District 121 are Oct. 25 and 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Woodland Middle School in Gurnee.
Players should attend both evenings. There is no fee to try out but a parent/guardian must register their children the night of the tryouts at the gym. For additional information regarding this program contact Ron Dorsey at (847) 599-3758 or rdorsey@gurneeparkdistrict.com.
• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.