Barrington's Dodge, doubles duos off to state

After registering a 16th consecutive Mid-Suburban League title last week, the Barrington Fillies captured an IHSA girls tennis sectional championship at Schaumburg on Saturday afternoon.

This sectional crown is the seventh straight plaque taken home by the Fillies since Tracy Waters-Miller became coach in 2004. Barrington placed fourth at state last fall behind Hinsdale Central, Deerfield and Lake Forest.

This season, the Fillies will send senior Kristy Dodge (28-3) and their first and second doubles teams to state.

“We set our goals at the beginning of the year, and that's to win conference and qualify as many for state as we can, Waters-Miller said. “I think we've done well representing the MSL in the tournament. We want to go out playing great tennis, and making it fun.

The singles sectional final showcased a rematch of the MSL tournament final: top-seeded Dodge (28-3) vs. Schaumburg sophomore Monica Linn.

Dodge had defeated Elk Grove's Tori Liewergen, Fremd's Courtney Norenberg and Hoffman's Courtney Lang.

The second-seeded Lin (18-4) had tallied victories over Fremd's Mayu Sujikawa, Hoffman's Amruta Bhatt and Lake Park's Stephanie Lee.

Dodge, who committed to the University of Michigan in April, repeated her MSL title by beating Lin 6-3, 6-4, as both players qualified for the state meet. This is Lin's second state berth, while Dodge earned her fourth trip.

“I'm kind of sad, but my dad told me this morning that it's the end of one chapter, the beginning of another, Dodge said. “We have a younger team this year. When you finally make it to state, there's always a chance.

Hoffman Estates freshman Courtney Lang (16-6) and Lake Park junior Stephanie Lee, who also qualified for the state tournament, faced off for third and fourth place and Lee (20-7) prevailed 6-2, 6-1. This will be Lang's third state trip.

“It's a lot of hard work, Lang said. “I put every effort into each practice. Basically my goal was to get more games in the off-season, and it paid off. I'm excited I'm going to state. I can't wait.

The doubles final was a battle of Barrington's first and second tandems.

Sophomore Zoe Kasuriak and freshman Heather Ciskowski (22-3) defeated the second doubles team of Alia Nejdawi and Kate Allison (19-6) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

“Heather (Ciskowski) could have played as a single, but for points, this is our strongest team, Waters-Miller said. “The No. 2 doubles I expected them to make state if they played to what they're capable of. We came out to play and met pressure. The doubles communicated well together. The doubles teams are peaking at the right time.

The Prospect and Fremd duos took third and fourth places, respectively, to qualify for state. Prospect team defeated Fremd 6-1, 6-2.

“We would keep talking and we played more aggressive, said Prospect senior doubles player Jackie Hertrich. “Last year was disheartening we didn't get to go (to state). But this year we can go out with a bang. We have to give everything we got.

The Prospect tandem of junior Maggie Partridge and senior Hertrich are not their usual doubles team. Partridge is the no. 1 single player, while Hertrich is one half of the no. 1 doubles squad.

Hertrich, who was a state qualifier in badminton in 2009-10 and Partridge, a state qualifier in track, both earned their first state tennis berths.

“They played two or three weekends together, said Prospect coach Karie McClure. “Maggie is a good athlete. It was easier for her to make that transition into a doubles team. Jackie has been in the program for four years, and her confidence level has gone up tremendously.

“Once they get through to qualify, it's gravy. Just relax and play your game. I'm happy for them, especially Jackie because she's a senior.

Like Prospect, the Fremd duo of junior Maggie Lundholm and sophomore Holly Kometer have not had extensive playing time as a doubles team.

Lundholm normally plays at second singles, while Kometer is at No. 3 singles. As an unseeded team, Lundholm and Kometer upset the second-seeded Rolling Meadows doubles team in the second-round and advanced to the semifinal.

“It is so hard to qualify for tennis as singles, so I decided to push them to doubles, said Fremd coach Lauren Hall. “They always warm up together and know each other's strength. This is such a huge surprise, and I'm very excited about them going to state.

At York: Leyden senior Kornelia Nowaczyk finished fourth in singles to qualify for state.