Wolves tied for 5th at state; several area players still alive
The Prairie Ridge girls tennis team stood tied for fifth place after accumulating 15 points in the opening round of the IHSA state tournament Thursday.
Meanwhile, several area competitors are still alive in state competition, including the Elgin High doubles team of Rachel Hegel and Dana Altieri as well as Elgin Academy singles player Bethany Boyle and Jacobs singles standout Annie Smith.
PR, though, made the biggest splash of any area team in Thursday's opening round. In singles competition, Allison Murphy and Carolyn Huerth each went 2-1 on the day. Murphy won her first two matches before falling to Highland Park's Julie Flanzer 6-4, 6-2 in the third round. Huerth won her first match, lost, and then beat Marissa Ausman of Metamora 6-0, 6-0 to stay alive. Murphy will take on Brooke Henry of West Aurora in the fourth round of consolation play today at Palatine High School while Huerth faces Glenbrook South's Avis Jason at Elk Grove in the third round of consolation.
In doubles play, the Wolves' Emily Murphy/Laura Curran went 3-1, losing in the second round but then coming back to win two more matches and stay alive. They will face Aubry Frank/Ayla Grady of Mattoon today at Hersey. The Wolves' sisters doubles team of Julie and Jackie Schwartz won both their matches Thursday, beating Leah Sibener/Sofia Iatarola of Chicago U-High and Olivia Schwartz/Virgina Dalman of Glenbard West. They will face Lucy Clark/Claire DiMario of Lake Forest today.
Hegel and Altieri scored 4 points for Elgin, winning their first match 7-5, 6-4 over Kaitlyn Domico/Brittany Flanagan of Providence before falling to Upstate Eight opponents Megan Gow/Liselot Koenen of St. Charles North 6-2, 6-3. The Maroon duo came back to win twice, downing Lindsay Polke/Jordan Halata of Lockport 6-2, 6-3 and then Alexa Schofield/Kim Sawyer of Batavia 6-2, 6-2. They will take on opponents to be determined today at Hersey.
Boyle came back strong after losing her first match to Sarah Thappa of Rockford Boylan 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Boyle then defeated Hanne McDonald of Mundelein, Kendall Robinson of Decatur St. Teresa and Bari Reynolds of Sterling to advance to today's fourth-round consolation match against Bryna Nasenberry of Waubonsie Valley. That match will be played at Palatine High School.
Jacobs' Smith downed Henry of West Aurora and Margaret Fox of Johnsburg before losing to Gabbie Clark of Chicago U-High 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. Smith will face Ashley Hinkamper of Quincy Notre Dame today, also at Palatine.
Crystal Lake South's doubles team of Kennifer Maruyama/Laura Roesslein also stayed alive. After losing their first match to Alex Marcell/Nora Montgomery of Loyola, they downed Jesi Ditzler/Abby DiModica of Freeport, Idia Omogiate/Nike Omogiate of Chicago Lane and Amanda Gomez/Erin Bowman of St. Charles East to advance to a match at Buffalo Grove today against opponents to be determined.
Dundee-Crown's Stephanie Zundl went 1-2 in singles play and the Chargers' doubles team of Kimberly Miller/Maria Ballester was 0-2 and eliminated from further competition. Jacobs' singles player Jen Ruther (0-2) and the Golden Eagles' doubles teams of Heather Graham/ Kelli Stoka (1-2) and Marlena Aleksiejczyk/Kelley Lippner (0-2) were also eliminated.
Hinsdale Central leads the team standings with 22 points. Lake Forest has 17 points while Highland Park and Moline each have 16. Downers Grove South also scored 15 points to tie Prairie Ridge for fifth place.