Depth has CL South in good position entering FVC meet

Depth has been quite the good friend to the Crystal Lake South girls tennis team this fall.

The Gators went 14-1 during the regular season and finished with a 10-1 dual record in Fox Valley Conference play.

South sits in second place in the FVC with 65 dual points (1 point for each individual and doubles win during the league season) heading into today's league tournament at various District 155 schools in Crystal Lake.

State power Prairie Ridge has a commanding lead in the conference. The Wolves went 11-0 and lost only 4 points the entire season (73 points).

"I knew we had the depth and I thought that depth would carry us," said veteran South coach Don Nead. "And it pretty much has so far. We have several girls that we can rely on."

Sophomore Abby Kolarczyk had a 16-4 combined record earlier this week between No. 1 singles and doubles play. Junior Stephanie Brunetti had a combined 19-1 mark between No. 2 singles and doubles play. Rachel Boorom, a junior, had an 18-2 mark, mainly at No. 3 singles.

South's No. 1 doubles team of seniors Liana Semchuk and Laura Roesslein were 16-3 together. Roesslein was a state qualifier last year.

"The depth has paid off," said Nead. "Everybody has really contributed."

Elgin Academy update: The Hilltoppers have been in a re-tooling mode this season after losing 9 of the top 11 seniors to graduation from the 2007 team.

"We've got some newer people that have been introduced to the varsity level," said Elgin Academy coach Greg Repede. "They have been working hard. It's encouraging."

Junior Bianca Swegler is the team's No. 1 singles player.

"This is the first year she has played," said Repede. "She's having a good season. I think she has a good chance to be a sectional seed.

Taylor Yavari has been solid for the team at No. 2 singles, while the No. 1 doubles team of Talia Beechick and Sarah Parker has shown promise.

"Sarah and Talia played number three doubles last year," said Repede, whose team competed in the Independent School League meet earlier this week in Chicago. "To jump to number one, that's a pretty big jump. They've won some matches for us."

Huntley update: The Red Raiders' recent sweep of Grayslake Central gave the team a 6-5 record in FVC play, which ensured a winning league record for the first time in school history. Huntley ended up 11-6 in duals during the regular season.

"Record-wise, this is definitely the best season we've had," said Huntley coach Barry Wells. "This is the fourth year I've been coaching. I've been able to coach a lot of these girls for four years. We've got more depth this year. That's the biggest difference. Before I was putting all of our best players in singles or doubles. This year, we've got a balanced lineup with singles and doubles and that has helped a lot."

Heather Nieman has played well for the team at No. 1 singles.

"Heather has had a good year," said Wells. "She's about .500, but that's tough position to play. There are some really good singles players in our conference. She hasn't had a bad match all year."

Holly Dryden and Lydia Jiang have anchored the team's doubles division at the No. 1 position.

"They've done very well there," said Wells. "They played two last year. We moved them up. They are only sophomores and they have a winning record."

Freshman Jordan Anderson (No. 2 singles) and Shannon Stanis (No. 3 singles) have also contributed.

"Jordan has been very helpful to the lineup," said Wells. "She's a solid number-two. She's a good athlete and is very consistent. Shannon has had some key victories for us throughout the year. That's how it's been for the team. Wins have come throughout the year from different players. It's not just one or two people. Everybody has had good wins for us."

South Elgin update: The Storm was 5-5 in Upstate Eight Conference play through the early part of the week. South Elgin will head to today's UEC tournament being held at both St. Charles East and Geneva high schools.

"This is the best South Elgin varsity team I've seen in the last 3 years," said South Elgin interim coach Jennifer Shaughnessy, who has taken over for regular coach Melissa Tuftedal (maternity leave). "We've looked real good. Part of that is because we've got 10 seniors. We have a lot of experience."

The No. 2 doubles team of seniors Nessa Saeng and Brittany Boelter had a 7-2 conference mark early in the week.

"They are good at reading their opponents on the court and situations on the court," said Shaughnessy. "They can pump each other up. They are really ideal kids to coach. They know exactly what they are doing wrong."

South Elgin has also received production from the No. 1 doubles pairing of Lauren Ferry and Dana Hildenbrandt (both seniors).

"Dana has come back from a sickness and was out 2 weeks," said Shaughnessy. "They are a very experienced team. Both were state qualifiers two years ago. They are on a mission this year."

Dundee-Crown update: D-C coach Janet Malecek has been pleased with the progress her doubles teams of Lindsay Drotos-Bridget Kennelly (No. 1), Ali Warner-Kathleen Fahy (No. 2) and Sarah Sikorski-Cassie Heredia (No. 3) have been making.

"They are showing improvements," said Malecek. "We've had some success on the weekends in invites. They are progressing."

Jacobs update: Jacobs heads into today's FVC meet in fourth place with 54 conference points, just a single point back of third place Crystal Lake Central.

"We're in a good position for conference right now," said Jacobs coach Jon Betts. "Right now we're in the top half of the conference and we've got an opportunity to move up."

Betts has 10 seniors in his starting lineup of 11.

"We're real lucky to have a lot of seniors," said Betts. "They have given us some great, steady play. They play smart tennis and have used their experience to work through some tough matches through the years."

Jacobs played part of the year without Heather Graham, who was part of the team's No. 1 doubles pairing. Graham had been sidelined with a shoulder injury.

But the new Golden Eagle No. 1 doubles team of Kelly Stoka and Melissa Blunk was 10-3 at the beginning of the week.

"That speaks to their experience," said Betts. "They've had to move into a new spot and they have played well."

Sam Thomas and Sarah Powers have played No. 2 doubles most of the year but Betts said they will shift to No. 3 for conference. Amy Nielan and Graham will play No. 2 doubles.

"Amy and Heather match up well with a lot of teams in the conference," said Betts.

Betts likes the depth he has in doubles this year.

"All of our doubles teams can do very well," said Betts. "In years past we've had Annie Smith, Jen (Ruther) and Marlena (Aleksiejczyk) in singles and we were able to rely on them to carry us through matches. Now we've got a group of doubles players that have matured over the years and have developed at their own pace. We've got four very solid doubles teams who have a chance to be in the championship matches at conference."

Ruther has also played well at No. 1 singles.

"This is a spot that she has wanted to play," said Betts. "She is taking advantage of the top competition. I'm proud of the way she's playing and maturing in that first singles role. She's not someone to take lightly."

Larkin update: Injuries have forced Larkin coach Bob Young to switch his lineup around this year.

"We've had a couple of injuries that have made us change players who are playing against stiffer competition now," said Young. "Hopefully that will help us play well in the conference tournament. We want to go out there and play our best tennis."

Larkin lost No. 1 doubles player Melissa Jimenez early in the season and then No. 2 singles player Jackie Goodlove was later felled with a broken leg in recent weeks.

"Jackie's injury was very disappointing," said Young. "She was playing very well. She had won four in a row at one point. She was turning the corner. What that has done has forced everybody to step up. We're playing hard right now."

Junior Kirstie Shales has been leading the way at No. 1 singles.

"She is a nice, consistent player who works hard and battles opponents really well," said Young, who also lauded the play of No. 1 doubles players Leah Tiaokhiao (sophomore) and senior Susan Marquez.

Bartlett update: The Hawks were 4-6 in UEC play through mid-week.

"How we do in conference will depend on how the girls come to play," said Bartlett coach Sue Hannula. "Hopefully they will play like they played against teams like Neuqua (Valley). We competed against them."

Freshman Jen Parato was 4-4 at No. 1 singles in conference play through mid-week.

The doubles combinations of Joanna Ligas-Lindsay Garnett, Kaylen Kress-Katie Gates and Kristin Kress-Ashley Stevens have also helped the squad.

"If we can get our confidence up and play more aggressively we'll be in good shape," said Hannula. "Sometimes we need to be a little more confident. I've seen these girls play in a tournament in Wheaton where we played New Trier's sophomore team and the Wheaton team and are strokes were right there with them. We competed very well."

Cary-Grove update: The Trojans ended up 14-8 in duals this year and were in sixth place heading into today's FVC tournament.

"We've done well outside of the conference," said Cary-Grove coach Bud Lachel. "They girls have played pretty well. We've had a lot of three-setters this year."

Freshman Beth Hughes has been improving at No. 1 singles for the Trojans.

"She's handled the circumstances real well," said Hughes. "She likes playing the tough kids."

Rachel Taddy has also played well at No. 2 singles.

"Rachel has been giving people some good matches," said Lachel.

Cary-Grove's No. 2 doubles team of Hayley Prihoda and Elizabeth Lehnertz were 21-4 heading into the conference tournament. They did not receive a conference seed.

"They have been a bright spot for us," said Lachel. "They lost to the No. 1 seed in 3 sets and beat the No. 2 seed and lost to the No. 4 seed."

Cary-Grove recently took second out of 8 teams at a tournament in Peoria.

"We had a lot of strong finishes there," said Lachel. "We took a second, two fourths and three thirds."

Lachel is looking forward to the upcoming FVC tournament.

"I think we can do well and knock off a couple of people and surprise some people," said Lachel. "Doing well at conference will help with the seeds for sectionals."

Elgin update: Senior Clair Hernon and junior Carleen Krieb have been making progress at No. 1 doubles for the Maroons.

"They can play with a lot of teams," said Elgin coach Jan LaBar.

LaBar, in her first year as the team's head coach after serving as an assistant to longtime former coach Larry DeHaan previously, has a youthful team this season.

"We're a young team," said LaBar. "We have some players that have had to play up. We're looking to improve in the future. They are showing improvements."

Next week: Sectional play kicks off the IHSA postseason next weekend. In terms of local teams, Larkin will host a sectional that also features Jacobs, Elgin Academy, Dundee-Crown, Elgin, St. Edward, Huntley, South Elgin and Streamwood. Jacobs has traditionally performed very well in this sectional in recent years.

The rest of the area teams will be in the Cary-Grove sectional. That field includes Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South as well as Prairie Ridge. The top four place finishers in singles and doubles advance to the state tournament.