Crowley, Linden keep Barrington in trophy hunt

A hard-fought victory at the state tournament can do a lot for a player's confidence.

Apparently, it can also make you oblivious to conditions outside of your match.

"I forgot it was cloudy," Barrington's Meg Crowley said.

"I forgot it was cold," Crowley's doubles partner Alli Linden added.

These comments came after Linden and Crowley defeated Caroline Bauer and Molly Montgomery of Loyola, who were seeded higher, by a score of 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals of Friday's girls tennis state tournament.

"I was stronger in the points where she was weaker and she was stronger in the points where I was weaker," Crowley said.

"We complemented each other," Linden said, finishing Crowley's sentence.

Barrington coach Tracy Waters said it was a bonus for Linden and Crowley to advance to the quarterfinals.

"They really played well," Waters said. "They were having fun and in tight situations they kept their head on their shoulders."

On a day of poor weather, some matches moved to indoor locations because it was too wet in the morning, Barrington was able to claw a little bit closer to a state trophy.

After Friday's play, the Fillies' 24 points are tied for fourth with Prairie Ridge. Hinsdale Central leads with 35 points, but Lake Forest is second with 27 points and Deerfield is third with 26.

Teammate Kristy Dodge was a key part of earning those points. She joined Linden and Crowley in the quarterfinals.

Dodge beat Annie Sullivan of Woodlands Academy 6-3, 6-1 in her quarterfinal match to advance to today's semifinals. Sullivan was one of the top four seeds in the tournament.

"I'm just so excited," Dodge said. "That was my goal, to get into the semifinals. We'll see what I do from here."

Dodge faces Nida Hamilton of Hinsdale Central today at Prospect. Hamilton is the No. 2 seed and was part of the team that beat Dodge in last year's doubles championship match.

"I was almost giddy out there," Waters said of Dodge's match. "It was so much fun watching her. She was loose. She was just having fun."

Linden and Crowley were beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Elise Woulfe and Tina Harazan of Lyons Township in their quarterfinal match, but will be playing in the consolation bracket today. The match to decide their opponent will be played today as well. Linden and Crowley will play at Rolling Meadows.

Fremd's Jenna Langhorst will still be playing today, also in the consolation bracket. Langhorst lost to Melissa Kopinski of Stagg 6-4, 6-2 in her first match Friday.

But Langhorst won a match in the consolation bracket to advance to today's play. She will face Kelly Barry from York at Fremd this morning.

"I just want to try to get past where I did last year in the draw and hopefully get a medal," Langhorst said.

To earn that medal, which is given to the top six places, Langhorst will have to win three matches today.

Four area doubles teams were eliminated on Friday.

Buffalo Grove's Ashton and Heather Nisbet were beaten in the sixth round of the consolation bracket and teammates Nell Boyd and Kate Meyers were eliminated in the fifth round of the consolation bracket.

Boyd and Meyers knocked out Rolling Meadows' MaryClare Loughery and Kim Martini in the fourth round of the consolation bracket, and Barrington's Jenny Schnack and Dana Pierce were also eliminated in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.