Fenwick shows why it's No. 1

In the first weekly rankings by Illpolo.com, the Fenwick girls check in at No. 1 in the state.

No one from No. 3 Stevenson will argue that point anytime soon.

Fenwick junior Morgan Bonk scored 4 goals to lead the Friars to a 9-4 victory Thursday at Stevenson.

Fenwick improved to 3-0 while the Patriots dropped to 2-1. The Friars have been waiting for this season to start ever since losing by one goal to Mother McAuley in last year's state championship game.

"That really motivated us," Bonk said. "We could have won that game and it really pushed us to work harder over the summer."

Stevenson coach Jeff Wimer said the Patriots can learn a great deal by scheduling a team such as Fenwick.

"The tougher our schedule, the better we'll be in the long run," he said. "I feel we can learn and grow from this."

Fenwick succeed in making Stevenson work hard throughout the game.

"We're a really well-conditioned team," Bonk said. "We know if we keep swimming the shots will come eventually."

Fenwick moved the ball extremely well and generated high-percentage shots.

"Their offense was so fast," Stevenson senior Rebecca Shopiro said. "Their goal was to get us tired and it worked. They definitely exposed some holes in our game, but that's the whole point of playing harder teams. It helps us improve."

Added Stevenson senior Rachel Cliburn: "We kind of had an off day and you can't have one against a team that good. We're going to work on our awareness of what's going on and our reaction time."

Wimer credited goalkeeper Janelle Bartman for a solid performance.

"(The score) could have been worse without Janelle," he said. "She played a phenomenal game."

Stevenson's goal scorers were Shopiro, Cliburn, Amy Michelau and Liesl Schubel. Michelau also had 2 assists.

Shopiro and Mary Novokhovski each contributed 3 steals.

Shopiro's goal came on a sweet back-handed shot.

"It was instinctual," she said. "They were overplaying my left side."

Wimer liked the way Shopiro recognized the situation.

"That's what they were giving her," he said. "It was a very smart shot."

Boys tennis

Vernon Hills 5, Zion-B. 0: The weather cooperated enough Thursday to allow Vernon Hills to host Zion-Benton.

Vernon Hills captured a 5-0 victory in its season opener.

Sophomore Sam Rong and senior Josh Brickman both won in straight sets at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively.

The Cougars received doubles wins from junior Riaz Hoveydai and freshman David Alvero at No. 1, senior Eshaan Arora and sophomore Mitch Bukhar at No. 2, and sophomore Mitch Evett and junior Ethan Lindawer at No. 3.