Pogensee-Wei benefits from forehand thinking

There was nothing funny about the clean forehand winner, struck by Grayslake North senior Kelly Poggensee-Wei, Friday morning at the girls state tennis meet at Fremd.

But it made an opposing coach laugh.

In awe.

“That,” the Homewood-Flossmoor coach said to H-F supporters, “was such a nice shot.”

Poggensee-Wei, seeded 5-8, blasted gorgeous forehand after gorgeous forehand — to match the weather: sunny and mild, with little wind — in her 6-2, 6-1 third-round defeat of H-F’s Faith Huckabee.

The Knight, a top-eight player at state a year ago, hammered deep forehand lasers all over the court, earning quick points that appeared to deflate Huckabee, a worthy opponent.

“It’s Kelly’s favorite shot, and for me, it’s fun to watch,” said Grayslake North coach Jill Tomasello. “I was talking with my assistant (Meg Lopez), and we both agree: We’re going to miss Kelly’s forehand next year.”

Poggensee-Wei didn’t miss many shots in her next match, a 6-2, 6-3 win over New Trier’s Anna Kaplan at Rolling Meadows. Poggensee-Wei had heard Kaplan, a steady scrambler, likes to extend points.

“My plan was to attack, often,” said Poggensee-Wei (25-2), who faces 3-4 seed Alex Chatt, of Lyons, in a quarterfinal this morning.

Mundelein junior Ari Dechter, fourth in singles at state last fall, reached another quarterfinal after playing three-and-a-half matches Friday. She eliminated Oak Park-River Forest’s Samantha Schafer 7-5, 7-6 (4), in a first-round match that was halted in the second set by lousy weather on Thursday.

The Mustang then beat Glenbrook North’s Elizabeth Sak 6-2, 6-2 and Champaign St. Thomas Moore’s Madie Baillon 6-1, 6-2, before ousting Hinsdale Central’s Tiffany Chen 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth round.

Chin, a fluid netter, had defeated Dechter 6-2, 6-2 in a USTA tournament match last winter.

“Ari smiled when she saw that she’d get to play Tiffany,” said her father, Mark Dechter. “She likes chances to avenge losses.”

Dechter’s primary weapon, versus Chen, wasn’t a groundstroke. Wasn’t a volley. Wasn’t her service game.

“It was my mental game — that got me through,” she said. “I stayed positive, even after losing a point.

“My early match (against Schafer) … I’m glad it was tough,” added Dechter, who gets to battle top-seed Keisha Clousing, of Wheaton Warrenville South, in a quarterfinal. “It put me in a competitive mood.”

Stevenson double partners Alexxis Kiven and Kendall Kirsch, meanwhile, couldn’t wait to put knives in pumpkins Friday night, after earning a quarterfinal berth with a 7-5, 6-0 defeat of Glenbard West’s Samantha Reedy/Molly Hennessy at RM.

“We’re planning to carve pumpkins tonight, just the the two of us,” said Kiven, who, like Kirsch, uses a racket to slice winners. “I’m thinking I’ll carve ‘SHS’ in mine.”

Kirsch’s plan?

“Maybe ‘K2,’ ” said Kirsch, aka K-squared.

The Patriots’ No. 2 doubles team, Danielle Vasiliev/Michelle Tulchinskaya, upset Carmel’s Kathleen Felicelli/Michelle Kannenberg 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in a third-round match. Their reward for that victory: a match with the top-seeded duo, Hinsdale Central’s Kristy Hamilton/Jackie Altansarnai.

The pair of Red Devils advanced, by winning a pair of 6-2 sets.

Carmel freshman Brienne Minor, a 5-8 seed, bowed 6-4, 7-5 to New Trier’s Carol Finke in a fourth-rounder at RM.

Minor trailed 4-0 in the second set.

“I told myself, at that point, ‘Give it your best,’ ” said Minor (35-4), the singles champ at last weekend’s Highland Park Sectional.

“Being here, at state,” she added, “is what I’ll remember most about the season. I loved being here, loved playing the great competition.”

Hinsdale Central (30 points) is in first place in the team standings, followed by New Trier (28). Stevenson (18) and Deerfield (18) are tied for third.

All singles and doubles quarterfinal matches will be held at Prospect today, beginning at 8 a.m.