Fearless Prospect shakes up some seeds

As Prospect sophomore Anne Duggan departed the Rolling Meadows girls tennis sectional with a second-place medal on Saturday afternoon, Knights coach Karie McClure wasn't sure if she understood what just happened.

"I don't think she realizes she played in the sectional title match," McClure said. "She's too young."

Duggan's innocence may have worked to her favor.

She played fearlessly against Barrington's second-seeded Meg Crowley in the sectional semifinals and pulled off the first of two Prospect upsets on the day.

Barrington did cruise to its 16th consecutive sectional title and advanced two singles players and two doubles teams to the state tournament that starts Thursday -- but Prospect gave the competition some surprise.

"I just wanted to come out and play my hardest," Duggan said. "There was some pressure this morning in the match to qualify, but after that I was relaxed.

"Against Barrington, it was an extremely tight match. I knew I had to be careful with my shots, but I also had to be aggressive. Deep down, I knew I was going to win. I just had that feeling."

First, it was Duggan, then the Knights' doubles team of Amy Varner and Becky Santiago that stirred up the seedings.

In the third-place match, Varner and Santiago defeated Rolling Meadows' Jenny Velasquez and Mary Clare Loughery for the first time in four tries this season. Both teams qualified for the state meet.

"Today, we had nothing to lose," said Varner, who will be making her second state appearance. "I think we had more confidence. We knew what we had to do."

Santiago said, "I'm kind of still absorbing it. I'm taking it all in. It's awesome to place at sectionals especially with someone like Barrington in it."

The Fillies again were dominant.

Kelsey Linden and Kristy Dodge displayed why they're considered a contender for a state doubles crown, as they only lost one game in four sectional matches.

"It's a step closer," said Dodge, a freshman. "I'm really excited for state. Me and Kelsey have been playing so well."

Teammate Sonam Jaglan and Dana Pierce can attest to that. They fell to Dodge and Linden 6-0, 6-0 in the sectional championship.

"We knew it was coming," Jaglan said. "They just don't make mistakes very often."

Barrington's Alli Linden had a similar result. Linden lost only two games in four matches and defeated Duggan 6-0, 6-0 in the championship.

In the third-place match, Crowley defeated St. Viator's Jackie Marx. It will be second state appearance for both Crowley and Marx.

"It was nice to see Meg come back and win the third-place match," said Barrington coach Tracy Waters. "That's what we need at state. If you're tired or down, you have to be able to fight back and win the match. Each win gives us another point."

At Stevenson: Buffalo Grove won a tiebreaker over Fremd and took home its first girls tennis sectional title.

The Bison and Fremd tied with 17 points, but Buffalo Grove had more state qualifiers and was rewarded the team crown. The Bison qualified Nell Boyd and Jen Immen in singles and the doubles team of Ashton Nisbet and Heather Nisbet.

"We didn't let our nerves get the best of us," said BG coach Kevin Schrammel. "They were nervous, but they played through it."

Fremd advanced Jenna Langhorst, who won the singles titles, and the doubles team of Katie Dewar and Elizabeth Stephenson.