Girls tennis: Geneva, West Aurora claim Upstate Eight crowns
Caroline Lahey was as an unexpected Upstate Eight River girls tennis singles champion as the format was unusual Saturday in Batavia.
Tournament officials reduced the typical two-out-of-three sets for the victor to a single set in which eight games were needed for a victory.
Lahey, a Geneva senior, did not require any adjustments in denying Elgin junior Marta Krakowski a third consecutive division title.
Capitalizing on several uncharacteristically unforced mistakes by Krakowski, Lahey won first singles, 8-6, in leading the Vikings to a fourth straight team title.
The Vikings' 3-point regular-season over St. Charles North was never threatened at the abbreviated one-day tournament as Geneva captured five of the seven championships to complete a flawless divisional season with 74 total points.
St. Charles North, which dropped the tournament race to Geneva 30-38, was runner-up with 63 points.
Batavia (54 points), St. Charles East (41), Elgin (22), Streamwood (13) and Larkin (6) were third through seventh in both the tournament and the final standings.
Lahey was looking to reverse her personal trends with Krakowski.
"I am really excited," Lahey said. "Last year I lost to Marta in the finals at conference. I lost to her earlier this season. I was able to be defensive at the right time and offensive at the same time."
It was a frustrating single-set loss for Krakowski, who dropped the first league match of her three-year career.
"My serve was really off, but Caroline was really playing well," Krakowski said. "I had opportunities but just let them go. I made mistakes when it was most important."
Geneva sophomore Alex Cappelli emerged victorious at third singles 8-2.
"I was just trying to focus on every single point," Cappelli said. "I am proud of myself for how hard I have worked this summer."
St. Charles East partners Chantal Carranza and Nicole McGraw were the lone obstacle to Geneva sweeping the four doubles titles.
The Vikings' respective duos of Grace Hahn and Jaden Ciesielski, Emma Henderson and Shelby Johnson and Helena Corda and Nisha Hawkins were crowned champions in their final year in the Upstate Eight.
Hahn and Ciesielski stormed back from a 3-6 deficit against Batavia rivals Megan Granberg and Madison Ostrander with five straight victories to win 8-6 at first doubles.
"We just went in there and played as hard as we could," Hahn said. "We were having a rocky start. It was a good (match-ending) run."
Emaira Saini outlasted Batavia sophomore Morgan Steinys 9-8 (8-6) to give St. Charles North its sole championship.
"(The format) was different, but it helped a little bit," Saini said. "It was a good experience. I am glad I played well."
In the Valley Division, conducted indoors on Friday in Hanover Park, West Aurora earned a third consecutive championship in the most anomalous of manners.
The Blackhawks lost their regular-season dual match to Glenbard East 4-3.
The Rams also bested West Aurora 22-21 in the tournament.
But the Blackhawks won the overall title, 52-51, on the basis of four shutouts in league dual play.
"That is a very rare thing," West Aurora coach Bruce Fraser said. "As a coach, you always tell your kids that every match matters."
Liz Stefancic, second singles, and doubles mates Taylor Wyeth and Morgan Glatzhofer won titles for West Aurora.
South Elgin partners Vivian Nguyen and Serena Nguyen and Madison Waichunas and Andrea Michel swept first and second doubles for the Storm.