Dodge, Fillies finish in fourth
Barrington's girls tennis team entered Saturday's final day of the state tournament with hopes of great individual and team accomplishments.
Both goals ended up just out of reach.
The Fillies fell 5 points short of taking home a team trophy, finishing the day tied for fourth place with Prairie Ridge at 24 points, behind Hinsdale Central (43 points), Deerfield (33) and Lake Forest (29).
Sophomore Kristy Dodge was in the final four of the singles bracket, but dropped matches to Nida Hamilton of Hinsdale Central and Jasmine Minor of Carmel for a fourth-place finish.
"It's nice having gotten fourth place, but obviously I wish I did better," Dodge said. "I'm just happy I got to the semis. And I have two more years, so we'll see what I do."
Hamilton, the No. 2 seed, had Dodge running all over the court in a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the semifinals.
"That was like inhumanly," Dodge said of Hamilton's play. "She's so fast and she knows how to move the ball. She has quick reactions. She figured out where I was going every time."
Barrington coach Tracy Waters was at a bit of a loss for words after watching Dodge's two matches.
"The two players that beat her today did a fantastic job," Waters said. "It was just awesome to watch. They both (Hamilton and Minor) had all-around games."
Waters said Hamilton's net play was a big key in the semifinal match.
"Kristy couldn't get it deep enough and then Hamilton was all over the net," Waters said. "She (Hamilton) moved her (Dodge) around, and forced Kristy to hit short. I said to Kristy, 'Gosh, she stole your game.'"
Minor beat Dodge 6-4, 6-2 for third place. Minor is a much more powerful hitter than Hamilton, but Dodge said Minor's power didn't affect her.
"I honestly like playing people like Jasmine," Dodge said. "She hits the ball hard and I love hitting hard as well. That was a fun match for me. I like the way she plays."
Barrington's doubles team of Alli Linden and Meg Crowley, who reached the quarterfinals on Friday, were eliminated when they lost 6-4, 6-3 to Taylor Burch and Jenny Porter of Hinsdale Central in the consolation bracket on Saturday.
Linden and Crowley are both juniors and, along with Dodge, should form a pretty strong core next season for Barrington.
Fremd's Jenna Langhorst finished her high-school career with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to York's Kelly Barry in the seventh round of the consolation bracket Saturday.
Elizabeth Epstein of F.W. Parker won her second straight singles championship by defeating Hamilton 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match.
Deerfield's Misia Krasowski and Julia Fellerhoff beat Lake Forest's Kathleen Saltarelli and Nicole Lipp 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for the doubles championship. Hinsdale Central's team championship was its third straight.