St. Francis wins 5th straight SCC title
Not much changed since Rosary's and St. Francis' girls tennis programs met for the second time this fall.
"We literally won by the skin of our teeth," St. Francis coach Marcia Bussey said of the teams' regular-season encounter.
St. Francis held a precarious lead over Rosary as a result of their dual-meet win, and the Spartans' plurality was needed during final day action of the Suburban Catholic Conference meet at Oswego High School on Saturday afternoon.
The schools' various representatives met in all five of the championship matches, and St. Francis' dominance in doubles paved the way for a fifth consecutive conference championship for the Spartans.
St. Francis won all three doubles titles over Rosary to negate the Royals' twin singles triumphs to win the overall championship with 18 points.
Rosary was second with 15, followed by Marian Central (8), Montini (6), St. Edward (2) and Aurora Central Catholic (1).
St. Francis' top doubles team, seniors Jessica Armbrust and Monica Bhatia, improved to 23-3 on the season with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4 and 6-1 victory over Rosary sophomores Angelina Goheen and Katie King.
"She picked me up," Armbrust said of her teammate. "It's a good thing to have your partner behind me."
St. Francis' No. 2 doubles team, Emily Jagielo and Genna Armbrust, essentially wrapped up the latest championship for St. Francis with a 6-2, 6-1 verdict over their rivals from Rosary.
"We knew (Rosary) was going to win singles," Jagielo said.
"All of our doubles team are strong," Genna Armbrust said. "We tried to play aggressive and be positive."
The Jagielo-Armbrust partnership is also 23-3 on the season with its victory over the Royals' Kerry Zapeda and Viatra Baker.
Stephanie Sorensen and Katie Schnarnagle began St. Francis' resurgence in doubles with a straight-sets win over the Royals' Cara Defrisco and Sarah Vanderbosch.
"We have a great rivalry with Rosary," Bussey said. "I was very proud of my girls. They got all the big points to finish out the matches."
It was yet another day at the office for Rosary ace Emily Reuland at first singles.
The junior breezed to her second straight conference title, failing to lose a game during the tournament.
"I was pretty much consistent," Reuland said. "I think (the difference) was me playing smart."
Reuland has 23 wins on the season against a lone loss.
"(Reuland) is a really good all-around player," St. Francis' Andrea Krueger said.
Rosary then tied St. Francis for the overall lead when junior Elizabeth Vertin captured second singles in straight sets over St. Francis' Melissa Power.
"Traditionally, Rosary has always been stronger in singles," coach John Tsang said. "You have to give (St. Francis' doubles) all the credit. They have a very deep team."