Tigers win, but margin matters
Naperville Central didn't win its meet Thursday at Wheaton Warrenville South, but the Redhawks may have played a spoilers' role in the DuPage Valley Conference championship race.
The Tigers (6-3, 2-0), a strong contender for the DVC title, won 4-3, after taking points from four of the first five completed matches.
They looked to be on their way to a big victory, but the Redhawks grabbed a pair of three-set wins to cut the final team margin to 1, and those 2 points could come back to haunt the Tigers come DVC tournament time.
"In high school tennis it's not just if you win but by how much," said Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing. "Every individual victory is figured into the seeding for conference tournament, and the team points are added up to determine the conference champion. You have to get as many points as you can in the close matches, or you could be playing catchup at the end of the season."
Clousing was, however, happy with the Tigers' win over a feisty Naperville Central squad (6-8, 0-2) that is overcoming adversity to make its own noise in the DVC.
As expected, the Tigers' first two singles and doubles teams (which make up its sectional lineup) walked off the court with victories, highlighted by second-doubles Erica Fenn and Jaimi Inskeep beating back a strong challenge by the Redhawks' Alyssa Girges and Meghan Griffin, 6-4, 6-2.
"Our movement on the court was good today," Fenn said. "We're starting to think as one."
Fenn was conference champ at third-doubles last year, while Inskeep came from third singles.
"This was a nice change," Inskeep said. "It gave me the opportunity to play doubles with Erica and also to be in the sectional lineup."
"Erica brings the experience to doubles," Clousing said. "Inskeep is very fast and a great athlete. They've both been in the program four years and they play like seniors."
Courtney Burek and Andrea Kerwin won at first and second singles for the Tigers, while Stephanie Jenks and Melanie Millings were successful at first doubles.
When Naperville Central's third-doubles Jeri McCombs and Michelle Fern won a 6-4, 6-3 decision over the Tigers Zoe Smith and Deb Francis stage was set for the three-setters that made it a close meet.
Those last two Redhawks' points were scored by third-singles Roberta Petrauskaite, a sophomore, who expected to play JV before she was called to the varsity to fill in for injured teammates, and fourth-singles Sonia Nilakhe, a freshman who played through hip and knee problems.
Petrauskaite continued to establish her varsity credentials, Thursday, winning a tough match against Laura Heiberger 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Nilakhe dropped her first set 6-7 to Jessica Rhodes, before rallying 6-4, 6-2 to take the match.
"Roberta and Sonia gave us exactly the effort we needed to bring us to within a point of Wheaton, which always gives us fits," said Naperville Central coach Don Bonet.