Buffalo Grove, Barrington wait to decide MSL title
Day Four of the Mid-Suburban League girls tennis tournament commenced Friday afternoon with a tight race for first place in the team standings between Barrington and Buffalo Grove.
It ended that way, too.
After Friday’s action at Palatine High School, Buffalo Grove leads Barrington 27-23.
Although Friday was supposed to be the conclusive day of play, the No. 2 singles final between Barrington’s Roshni Sharma and Buffalo Grove’s Jenny Immen, and the No. 4 doubles final between Buffalo Grove’s Krewer/Pecoraro and Barrington’s Dombeck/Blaust, did not finish before sunset.
Those two matches will be completed Tuesday, as Yom Kippur and Columbus Day (Monday) take precedence.
Immen hold a slim 2-6, 6-4, 4-3 lead, while Krewer/Pecoraro are tied with Blaust/Dombeck: Buffalo Grove won 6-3 in the first set, Barrington took the second set 7-5 and the two were tied at 5-5 in the third set when the action was suspended.
The two championships are imperative matches for both Barrington and Buffalo Grove, because they are head-to-head and the swing in points could decide the league champion.
Hoffman Estates sophomore Courtney Lang earned the No. 1 single title, defeated Barrington senior Lucia Stumbras 6-2, 6-1. Lang defeated all her opponents in two sets.
“It was good doing that throughout the tournament, because every player was different,” Lang said. “I sometimes get into (the habit) of hitting double faults.
“It feels good to win because my hard work is paying off. I’m just trying to improve every year. I have to keep my focus and do my best I can for sectionals.”
The No.1 doubles final between Barrington’s senior Kate Allison/Zoe Kasuriak and Buffalo Grove’s Lauren and Dana Goggin ended very similarly to their Aug. 28 meeting. The two 2010 state qualifying teams traded leads throughout the melee until Allison/Kasuriak topped the Goggin sisters in three sets: 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
“We just kept it consistent,” Kasuriak said. “They are good at baseline. We always have to keep it very competitive with Buffalo Grove, because they’re right with us every year. We had to use a lot of footwork in this game. It was a lot harder to win a game like this.”
Barrington’s No. 2 senior doubles team Nejdawi/Mallon registered first place honors over Buffalo Grove’s Rubinstein/Durfey 6-4, 6-3.
“We’ve got to finish one game at a time,” said Barrington coach Tracy Waters-Miller. “With Lucia (Stumbras), I never thought that she’d end up in second. We’re are very fortunate to have her finish that high.”
“Our doubles team (Allison/Kasuriak) is getting better and better. Hopefully the two (singles and doubles) end up with solid wins Tuesday. We will practice for those (match finals) early Saturday.”
Buffalo Grove retaliated with a victory of its own as No.3 seniors double team Fourtris/Pietras defeated Fremd’s Jorgensen/Norenberg 6-2, 6-4.
At No. 3 singles, Fremd sophomore Amy Byrne enjoyed a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Prospect sophomore Christina Santiago.
“I expected tough matches with Buffalo Grove and Fremd,” Byrne said when asked about her earlier wins in the week. “I was never expecting to get that far. Now my confidence is really high. I hope to get the (no.) 1 or 2 spot next year. Our goal as a team was to get second or third place, and I think we got pretty close to that.”
Tuesday’s matches begin at 3:30 p.m.
“There are so many things that can go wrong, because that is just apart of the competition,” Waters-Miller said. “(Entering the tournament), our motto was to do the common things uncommonly well. We’re a good team together, and we proved that today. It’s tough with those three matches suspended for dark. We’ll just have to see what happens Tuesday.”