Benet's 'frosh monsters' win again

Looks can be deceiving.

At first glance Benet girls tennis players Madeline Carney and Kim Simmons seem like perfectly normal 14-year -old girls, but when you see them on the court they transform themselves into "the frosh monsters" and they've been wreaking havoc on opponents since the beginning of the season.

On Wednesday the "frosh monsters," as they've been nicknamed by their teammates, chalked up their 11th win in 12 tries at second-doubles to help the Redwings to a 5-2 victory over host Glenbard South.

"I think we're the 'frosh monsters' because we're really aggressive," Carney said. "We have the same style of playing. We go out and play our hardest and bang the ball. I think having the nickname has made us more confident."

"We're not tentative," Simmons said. "We don't think about missing. We play to win rather than not-to-lose. We keep it in play and hit it as hard as we can."

Benet coach Bob Comerford sees the similarities between Carney and Simmons' abilities and their approach to the game.

"They're warriors," Comerford said. "They're moving and covering the entire court. Their groundstrokes are solid and their energy level is high. They're ice women.

"They play like girls who have been on the varsity for several years. They're both very consistent."

Comerford said the freshman duo is so mature that he doesn't have to watch them much during a match because he knows "they're going to take care of business."

But the coach sees some differences between the partners.

"Kim is a waterbug, she's athletic and she covers the court," Comerford said. "She adds a little juice to the mixture because you never know what she's going to do. Maddie is a classic tennis player with a beautiful stroke. Put an athlete with a classic tennis player and it works well. They're one of the best freshman doubles I've ever had. It's scary thinking we're going to have them for three more years."

In winning Wednesday's dual meet, the Redwings (11-1) swept the three doubles matches and got victories from the first two singles, No. 1 Cassie Kovach, also a freshman and No. 2 Joyce Hanlon, a junior and returning state-qualifier who improved her season record to 12-1.

"Cassie and Joyce push each other in practice every day," Comerford said. "And it's working out well for both of them."

Glenbard South's two points came at third and fourth singles where undefeated Hannah Miller won 6-4, 6-1 and Samantha Ritchie took her match 6-1, 6-3.

"Hannah is playing strong enough to move up to second singles," said Glenbard South coach Marc Woodcock. "She's consistent. She picks her spots and hits them. She does a good job of trying to win a point rather than waiting for her opponent to make a mistake. Samantha is a backboard. She's patient and she keeps the ball in play."