First-set loss doesn't deter Glenbard East's Allen
Advancing to the girls state tennis tournament's fourth round isn't supposed to be easy. Bloomington Central Catholic's Madison Tattini made sure Glenbard East's Kolie Allen earned her way through.
Allen survived a long, grueling match to defeat Tattini 6-7 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4 Thursday at Elk Grove High School on the first day of the state tournament.
“I was so proud of Kolie bouncing back from a tough tiebreak loss in her first set to climb that two-set mountain and not try to shortcut it, not try to do anything other than earn point after point after point,” Rams coach Bill Burt said. “And she showed it at the end here too. She played strong against, man, another strong freshman here.”
“It was really tough,” Allen said. “The first set neither of us could win against the wind, so it was just going back and forth until we just got into a tiebreaker. I just couldn't pull that out, but I came back strong the second set, starting 3-0. Then from there it was just all good.”
Allen's first two matches of the day were much easier, winning 6-0, 6-1 over Morris' Megan Davy and 6-4, 6-0 against Rich Central's Byttish Burts.
“The third set (against Tattini), her decision-making was very good,” Burt said of Allen. “She made the right shot at the right time and really did not go for the impatient winner, the frustrated winner, when it wasn't time to hit it.”
Allen, a 9-16 seed, will take on Palatine's Asuka Kawai, a 5-8 seed, on Friday at Buffalo Grove High School. Both are freshmen.
Allen's Glenbard East teammate Priscilla Palermo, a 17-32 seed, lost to Warren's Alex Mella, a 9-16 seed, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 in the third round.
“The third (match) was really tough,” said Palermo, a sophomore who also played at state last year. “... It was a good match, and it was a good experience. She was really good. She definitely deserved to win.”
“It was a great two-set match, and you've got to give credit to the other kid on that one,” Burt added. “... It was a very evenly played match between two really good players.”
Palermo will head to the consolation bracket Friday.
Meanwhile, defending state singles champion Tiffany Chen won her three matches easily, losing only three games over those three matches. Chen, a junior and the tournament's top singles seed, will open Friday with Lyons Twp.'s Jelly Bosovic at Buffalo Grove.
Also reaching Friday's fourth round were doubles partners Cass Goldner and Hannah Swarm of Naperville Central. Hinsdale Central's Erika Oku and Stephanie Dolehide made it by defeating Glenbard South's Jenna Brambora and Rachel Rettger 6-1, 6-4.
Hinsdale Central leads in the team standings with 24 points through the first day of the three-day tournament. Stevenson is second with 22 points. Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley are tied for ninth with 12 points each.
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