On Day Three, upsets abound

After the first two days of the girls tennis state tournament pretty much fell in line with the seedings set forth, the final day got a little crazy with the upsets.

None of the top four seeded singles players reached the semifinals, and only two of the top four doubles teams made it there.

Barrington singles player Kristy Dodge and doubles team of Meg Crowley and Alli Linden lost in the quarterfinals, as did Buffalo Grove's duo of Ashton and Heather Nisbet.

Everybody was able to bounce back with wins in the next round, though, which was played out for state medals.

The Nisbets beat New Trier's Lindsay Fox and Rebecca Ritchie to set up a playoff for fifth place with Crowley and Linden, who defeated New Trier's Taylor Hampshire and Emily Barretta.

Crowley and Linden won that match with the Nisbets to claim fifth place and their first state medal.

"It's exciting because it's our senior year," Linden said. "It's our last tennis match together ever. So it's good to end it on a good note."

Crowley said her and Linden were very disappointed after losing in the quarterfinals, but were able to regroup before their match against the Trevians.

"We decided we were just going to bounce back and get fifth, and that's what we did," Crowley said.

Buffalo Grove coach Kevin Schrammel said the Nisbets were playing their best tennis at the end of the season, and that's exactly what everyone wants.

"Best players I've ever coached, hands down," Schrammel said. "It's a lot of fun. I'm going to miss them."

Ashton Nisbet said she felt her and her sister were just "on" during play Saturday.

"It was a fun match," Ashton Nisbet said of facing New Trier. "I think that was my favorite match. We just had no fear of doing anything."

The state medal for the Nisbets in tennis completes a collection. Ashton has medals from badminton and tennis now, and Heather from tennis, badminton and basketball.

"This is kind of the icing on the cake, I guess," Heather Nisbet said. "I never thought I'd do that."

After her interview was over, Heather Nisbet had one last thing she wanted to say.

"I just wanted to tell our coaching staff thank you for coaching us for the past four years because it has been a blast," she said. "And the administration, our school and everybody for all the support."

Dodge defeated No. 1 seeded singles player Hannah Mar of Hinsdale Central to advance to the fifth-place match against Annie Sullivan of Woodlands Academy.

"It felt like a semifinal match, it didn't feel like a backdraw match," Dodge said of playing Mar. "It was a really good match for me and I'm glad I got to play her."

Dodge lost to Sullivan and finished in sixth place.

The Fillies just missed out on a team trophy, finishing with 22 points in fourth place - 3 points behind Lake Forest. Buffalo Grove finished in a three-way tie for 10th place with 12 points.

For the fourth consecutive year Hinsdale Central captured the team title. Deerfield finished second.

Freshman Jerricka Boone of Morgan Park Academy beat Deerfield senior Julia Fellerhoff for the singles championship.

Prairie Ridge juniors Carolyn Huerth and Allison Murphy won the doubles championship; they beat St. Teresa freshmen Amy and Tracy Kuhle in the final.