Smiles all around for tennis teams

The Stevenson and Warren girls tennis teams both came away from Monday's dual with a lot to be happy about.

For Stevenson, the Patriots can savor the result, a 3-2 victory keyed by their depth. Warren can feel good about pushing Stevenson on a day when three regular starters were sick and unable to play.

"We've lost to Warren in close matches the past couple of years," Stevenson coach Dave Wilms said. "This was big for us. All the girls did a nice job of playing tougher as (the matches) went along."

Warren scored victories at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, but the Patriots swept the final three scoring matches.

"We have a lot of depth and (many) combinations that can make us competitive," Wilms said.

At No. 2 singles, Anna Gralak came through with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Warren's Shannon Chapman.

"I was consistent and tried to keep the ball in the power zone," Gralak said.

This was the varsity debut for Chapman, a sophomore.

"I threw her in the deep end of the pool for her first varsity match against Stevenson, and she grinded," Warren coach Vince DeSecki said. "She's a competitor."

At No. 2 doubles, Stevenson's Jenna Singer and Deena Zaiff were glad to be competing on the same team again. The result was a 6-1, 7-5 victory.

Singer began the season at No. 3 doubles, but she was moved up prior to the match. Singer and Zaiff were partners last year and often played together over the summer.

"She (handles) the baseline and I'm good by the net," Zaiff said. "We complement each other."

Stevenson sophomores Rochelle Kirzhner and Leslie Zwirn won 6-2, 6-2, at No. 3 doubles.

"They're playing inspired right now," Wilms said. "They're going for the shots they need to, and they're not making many unforced errors."

The same could certainly be said for Warren freshman Michelle Dutt, who defeated Stevenson's Alexis Karigan 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

Dutt limited her mistakes, and the longer the point, the better she performed.

"I was pretty patient," she said. "I wanted to keep it in play and move her around."

Karigan's play improved after a tough first set.

"My serve was pretty strong; that's a big part of my game," she said. "I tried to be more consistent in the second set, but she hit everything back."

Warren's Allison Strakusek and Taylor Ackerman came through with an exciting 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 1 doubles.

"We knew we couldn't get in a ground-stroke battle with them," Strakusek said. "We hit our shots and we didn't worry about mistakes."