Fillies capture showdown

The Buffalo Grove girls tennis team has some very talented players who played very well Thursday afternoon against Barrington in a dual meet.

The problem wasn't with how they played, more who they were playing: A Barrington team that boasts some of the best talent in the state, let alone the Mid-Suburban League or the area.

The Fillies defeated the Bison 6-1.

"I'm pleased with our group," Barrington coach Tracy Waters said.

At first singles, Barrington junior Kristy Dodge defeated Buffalo Grove junior Nell Boyd 6-0, 6-1. The score doesn't indicate how well-played the match was, though. Something Waters touched on afterward.

"It's just that Kristy Dodge is that much better. She just doesn't make the mistakes and she forces you," Waters said. "Nell did a really nice job. Kristy said she was really good. When Kristy plays you really can't go by the score. You just have to watch. And that was a good match."

Dodge had some compliments for Boyd afterward.

"She was really, really fast and she was able to counterpunch some balls," Dodge said of Boyd. "Her serve was very good. I think she had like two aces against me, and she has great movement, which is probably one of the biggest assets to her game."

In a first doubles match that featured two pairings that finished in the Top 32 at last year's state meet, Barrington's Alli Linden and Meg Crowley defeated Ashton and Heather Nisbet 6-3, 6-2.

"We played smart," Linden said. "It was a lot closer than the score. All of our games were close. We just kind of did what we had to and played our own game."

Barrington also posted nice wins at second singles and doubles. Freshman Zoe Kasiurak beat senior Mary Newhauser 6-0, 6-1, and the doubles team of seniors Dana Pierce and Annie Washburn beat freshmen Dana and Lauren Goggin 6-2, 6-3.

Last season the two teams did not meet head-to-head before squaring off in the conference meet. This year the two seeing each other before the conference meet has both sides seeing positives.

"It's good to know what to expect," Linden said. "Last year we didn't know how good they were, so we would have been more nervous to play them. Where this year we won't be as nervous probably."

BG coach Kevin Schrammel indicated that with Barrington's pedigree in girls tennis - the Fillies have won 14 straight conference championships - it's a good thing his players got to play against them in a dual meet.

"It takes away the nervousness of 'we're playing Barrington.' The girls know that they're good," Schrammel said. "Once you get in, and you play them once then it kind of takes those nerves away the first time, and we'll see."