Girls tennis: Glenbard West a sectional champ again

Despite venue changes forced by rain and court availability, the championship results from Saturday's Class 2A St. Charles East Class 2A girls tennis sectional tournament were a carbon copy from a year ago.

Fueled by 2-time sectional doubles champions Molly Rueth and Grace Giffin and a gritty performance from second-place singles finisher Sienna Lopez, Glenbard West pocketed its second consecutive team title by a 29-20 margin over runner-up Wheaton Warrenville South.

"There were a lot of strong teams here with really strong players," said Hilltoppers first-year coach Kevin Graham. "We're playing some of our best tennis at the right time of the year."

Meanwhile, unbeaten Wheaton Warrenville South junior Samantha Choi dug deep to capture her second straight sectional singles crown with a 3-set victory over Lopez.

After suffering her first set loss of the season, 4-6, Choi survived a 6-4 second set before falling behind 4-1 in the decisive third set.

"It was more of a mental game for me," said Choi, who placed sixth at state last year. "I was very close to just giving up after losing the first set."

Instead, Choi reached back with an assortment of drop shots and strong back line play to take the next 5 games for a 6-4 third-set triumph.

She also received a lift from her cheering teammates watching the match from above at the Rush Copley Healthplex in Aurora.

"Honestly, it was my team that pushed me forward and my coach (Patti Clousing) not giving up on me," said Choi. "She (Lopez) made a lot of good shots and is a tough opponent, especially indoors.

"Every point was a battle for me."

Lopez, a sophomore, hopes to build on her effort against Choi in next week's state tournament.

"Hopefully it will help me," said Lopez. "I'm improving a lot this year. I'm almost there."

"It's an encouraging match coming into state," said Graham. "It means that she can compete with the top players in the state."

Wheaton North junior Madeline Fidel placed third in singles with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Geneva senior Caroline Lahey.

Both players earned state qualifying berths.

"Madeline had a nice tournament," said Falcons coach Eric Laird. "She had close points with Sam (Choi in the semifinals). The score (6-1, 6-2) wasn't indicative of how close each game was and then she played really well in the third-place match."

In doubles play, the Hilltoppers' Rueth and Giffin split the first two sets of their title match against St. Charles North's Shelby Thomas and Emaira Saini before packing up and heading to the Norris Center in St. Charles for the third set - court availability at Rush Copley ended at 12:30 p.m.

Glenbard's top tandem completed the comeback with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 decision.

"Even changing from a different building, we were still nervous," said Giffin. "The first three games we got in the third set really helped us out."

"I think we executed well," added Rueth. "Our chemistry is really great."

Thomas and Saini reached the finals with a 3-set victory over Glenbard West's other duo of Claire Burelbach and Sarah Burke before falling prey to the experienced Rueth-Giffin team.

"The first games of the second set all went to deuce," said North Stars coach Sean Masoncup. "In three of those, we had the ad point but we just never could connect.

"That team finished in the top eight at state and we battled them toe to toe. They've been here before and we've got a freshman and a junior so I'm hoping we're that team next year."

Geneva's Grace Hahn and Jaden Ciesielski placed fourth to earn the final state doubles spot.