Benet duo still perfect, headed to state tourney
Long before this tennis season started Benet senior doubles pair Kelly Carney and Joyce Hanlon had their eyes squarely in the prize.
On Saturday at the Naperville North sectional, all their preparation and hard work paid off as the two former state qualifiers made it to next week's state tournament together for the first time.
"The preparation we did for this season really set up everything we've done," said Carney, about the doubles team that went 26-0 during the season and earned the East Suburban Catholic Conference championship. "We worked really hard over the summer on everything from our volleys to our overheads and our net game. That work has helped in every match."
"We did so much preparation that it made us excited for the season," Hanlon said.
"We were so eager to play once the season started."
The Redwings defeated the talented Naperville North team of Deepthi Ramachandran and Karen Liu, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the final four in the sectional.
The top four singles and top four doubles in every sectional qualify for state.
"Today, we were making the shots and keeping the ball in play," Hanlon said.
"We just played good doubles tennis. We did a great job of playing as a team and moving together. And we were also constantly setting each other up.
"We were intense and focused on the court and that has raised our game to a whole new level."
Benet won the team competition as well with 27 points, ahead of Neuqua Valley, which was second with 24, followed by Wheaton Warrenville South with 19.
Benet's second doubles team made up of sophomores Madeline Carney (Kelly's sister) and Kim Simmons and sophomore singles Cassie Kovach will also make the trip to state.
"Madeline and Kim had the toughest road ahead of them because they were seeded 5-6," said Benet coach Bob Comerford. "We knew Cassie and the first doubles would get down state, but to get Madeline and Kim in is fantastic. They just rode the momentum and played as if there was nothing to lose. Our entire team has been surprising me all year, so there's no reason that they should stop surprising me now."
Neuqua Valley placed two singles players and a doubles team in the state tournament.
Singles Emily Meyers, the sectional champion, and Natalie Peters, who have been challenging each other in practice all season, both qualified, as did doubles Ali Peters and Aileen Hoffman.
All but Hoffman have qualified for the state tournament before.
Peters made it to state the past two years with graduated partner Sarah Eid, and it wasn't until early in the season that Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth had settled on Peters and Hoffman as her first doubles.
"Aileen and I work well together," Peters said. "We really stayed on top of the points. We played several formations to make our opponents work harder."
"We improved a lot from working together over the season," Hoffman said. "We're more aggressive and we stay tough and try not to get down on ourselves. I'm really happy that we could qualify for state in our senior year."
Wheaton Warrenville South doubles Melanie Milling and Andrea Kerwin booked their second straight trip to the state tournament by winning the sectional doubles title, while the Tigers freshman singles Emma Li earned her first qualification.
Kim Sweeney and Hannah Potter, Batavia doubles lost to Ali Peters and Aileen Hoffman of Neuqua Valley 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
"That was only their second loss of the season," said Batavia coach Brad Nelson. "They ran into a tough team in the quarterfinals and they made too many errors today. The grabbed the lead a few times in the first set. They had the opportunities, but they couldn't close it out. It's a tough sectional. We knew we just couldn't walk into the state tournament."
Sweeney closes her career second on the Batavia all-time wins list with 108.
"Kim was a pleasure to coach," Nelson said. "I've had either Kim or one of her two older sisters on our team, every year in the 11 years I've coached."
Kelsey Chin lost to Neuqua Valley's Natalie Peters 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals
According to Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth: "Natalie played picture perfect tennis. She kept the ball in play and moved like crazy. I think she ran every ball down."
"She had a lot of confidence coming in and I was a little nervous," Chin said. "Her game was strong and I wasn't playing my best. She knows exactly what she's doing and she uses her mind to put the points together.
"I think it was a good season for me. I enjoyed the experience of playing for a high school team."
Chin finishes the season with a 16-2 record.