Barrington's beat goes on ... and on

The Mid-Suburban League girls' tennis tournament can be summed up in one word: Barrington.

Final rounds of the meet were played Saturday, and the Fillies earned 53 points behind six first-place finishes out of a possible seven - and the lone non-first place finisher took second.

"We came in with a couple of goals," said Barrington coach Tracy Waters. "We wanted to win as a team and play a little better than we have done before, and we did that. I thought be played well today."

Winning the tournament also meant Barrington clinched first place overall in the conference. Final conference standings are determined by combining the results of the regular-season dual meets with the conference tournament.

The net result: the Broncos have captured 14 straight MSL crowns.

"It feels awesome, it feels great," said Fillies junior Annie Washburn, who took first at No. 2 singles. "We all just put our heads down and kicked butt."

Sophomore Kristy Dodge defeated Fremd's Jenna Langhorst 6-2, 6-2 to take first place at No. 1 singles. The matchup not only featured conference's best, but two of the better players in the state.

"It was a tough match, every point was like deuce," Dodge said. "It's always a good match (against Langhorst), always a long match."

While tennis is an individual sport that has team results emerge from it, Barrington has a tight-knit group of girls that push each other toward success in many different ways.

Washburn said the team has plenty of time to bond, be it on the bus ride from one location to another or during a trip to pick up food at Dominick's grocery store before a meet.

But when it's time to play, the Fillies focus.

"When I get on the court, I zone everything out, because you're there to win," Washburn said. "You're not going to worry about anyone else but yourself on the court.

Washburn said it can be difficult if she is down in a match to look over and see teammates like Meg Crowley and Alli Linden (who finished first at No. 1 doubles) done with their match - or Dodge finishing a match where she has a big lead.

But Washburn said those results also push her to do her best.

"There is a lot of pressure when you are seeded to come in, and sometimes you take it for granted," Waters said. "We came in to play the tournament today, and we did."

Only Prospect freshman Maggie Partridge was able to break through against Barrington, winning her No. 3 singles final over Julia Hrobon.

"I feel really good because Barrington has been one of my toughest competitors," Partridge said. "She (Hrobon) has beaten me twice and it just felt really good to finally be able to beat her once."

"I just tried my hardest," said Partridge, who will not compete on the Knights' sectional squad. "It was my last match, so I knew I just had to go out an go for it."

The Knights were runners-up in the tournament and third overall in the MSL behind Barrington and Buffalo Grove.