Girls tennis: Antioch gains from lessons at Warren
After each tennis match, there's the usual consultation between the coach and player.
And on Saturday morning in Gurnee, it was not whether the player won, but rather what she get out of the match.
Take Antioch, which fell to the host Blue Devils 6-0 in the middle match of the Warren Quad.
"They have a lot more experience," Antioch coach Jamie D'Andrea said of the Blue Devils. "They hit the ball faster and are very strategic, but that made us better."
The Sequoits posted a 2-1 record on the day, rebounding from their loss to Warren to beat Niles North and Rockford Harlem.
"We're trying to focus on each shot and play with more mental strength," D'Andrea said. "(Warren) is a great program so we always try and take away as many positives as we can when we face them."
With Antioch No. 1 singles player Kelsey Neville visiting colleges out east, sophomore Sierra Ward stepped in admirably against Warren's top singles gun, sophomore Sabrina Mella.
"It was interesting," said Ward, who normally plays No. 2. "She played really well. I need to move my feet more. We're all working on our mental game as well and not giving up and getting down after losing a point."
Mella, a state qualifier last year and the fourth Mella to pass through Warren, posted a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
"I think I'm a lot more calm this year and have learned to better control my emotions," said Mella, who upped her season record to 15-4 after the Antioch match. "I'm also more patient and just trying to maintain consistency."
Antioch sophomore Brianna Fisher put up a good fight before falling to Warren freshman Olivia Wong at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-1.
Warren swept the four doubles matches. At No. 1, senior Ayusha Ayalur and junior Linsy Jante won 7-5, 6-0 over Antioch seniors Gabby Palm and Heather McNaughton. The No. 2 tandem of seniors Britta Johnson and Zoe Serelis took care of Sequoits senior Allie Regalado and junior Piper Foote 6-0, 6-2, while at third doubles juniors Frankie Grimes and Nisha Shiroor posted a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Antioch juniors Aubryn Corey and Emily Gardner.
Perhaps Warren's No. 4 team of seniors Emily Johnson and Sruthi Jayanti pulled out a 6-2, 5-7, (10-6 tiebreaker) win over Antioch juniors Gabbi Good and Megan Lawrence. Good and Lawrence led 5-2.
"Antioch has a lot of great athletes and all of the matches were really competitive," Blue Devils coach Vince DeSecki. "The fourth doubles was a great match."
Saturday's performance earned the Blue Devils a spot in the school record books with their 19th victory of the season against only 3 losses. Both schools have their respective conference meets next weekend. Warren will then compete in the Class 2A Highland Park sectional, while Antioch will hosts it own Class 1A sectional.