Raiders duo win at third doubles
A season of determined improvement came together Saturday afternoon in Geneva as the Vikings dominated the Western Sun Conference tournament.
The Vikings won six of the seven individual titles after going unbeaten in conference dual matches to rack up 33 team points, well ahead of second place Batavia's 21.5.
"I knew from the beginning of the year that the top of our lineup was strong, but our whole team developed and really came through at the end," Geneva coach Maureen Weiler said.
Kayla Fujimoto won a tough match over Sycamore's Veronica Behrens, 6-4, 6-2, and took home her second No. 1 singles title.
"I didn't play my best, so I'm just glad I found a way to win," Fujimoto said.
Blair Selakovich waved goodbye to conference play in style. The senior won her second singles title to go with a pair of doubles conference championships, beating Batavia's Kim Sawyer, 6-3, 6-0.
"I was really emotional today," Selakovich said. "Before I started I was thinking about how this was probably going to be my last singles match ever."
Jamie Potts improved by leaps throughout the season, and she capped that effort by claiming the No. 3 singles championship with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kristen Sapyta of Batavia.
The Vikings also owned the doubles matches, starting with Liz Bertrand and Krista Panko's 6-2, 6-2 win over Glenbard South's Erin O'Brien and Alyssa Zavislak at No. 1.
"We knew their strengths and weakness and what we had to watch out for," Panko said.
It was a memorable win for Bertrand.
"With this being my senior year, and playing with one of my best friends, I wanted to play the best that I could and I'm really proud with the way we played," Bertrand said.
Mary Pelling and Alexa Rogers swept Batavia's Mallory Ramp and Elena Mudrak at No. 2 doubles, 6-0, 6-0, while Kelly Mather and Sarah Zacchea claimed the fourth doubles title for the Vikings by coming back to beat Mary Diedrich and Barbara Marschaller of Sycamore, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The Vikings' No. 3 doubles team finished third.
"We only lost one individual match in conference all season," Weiler said. "I didn't know right from the get-go that we'd be able to do something like that."
Batavia coach Brad Nelson was proud of his young team's performance, which saw the Bulldogs advance to four of the seven championship matches.
"We're happy with the way things turned out for us," Nelson said. "Seven of our 11 players are coming back next year, so this is really good experience for us."
Sarah Nikonchuck and Shelby Lauman lost a heartbreaker to Glenbard South's Ashley Rettger and Olivia Bouchard in the No. 3 doubles title match, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
"That was a tough one to lose," Nelson said. "They played a great match and didn't give up, but that's been the way our whole team has approached this season."
Katie Hatch and Emma Anderson gave Kaneland its most successful effort of the tournament, finishing fourth in No. 1 doubles play.