Mundelein pair makes progress
A nearly three-hour match against one of the state's top doubles teams, followed by a rewarding win in their third-place match, had earned doubles partners Ali MacDonald and Paige Parola a well-deserved rest.
So on a hot Saturday, the two Mundelein tennis players sat on the grass next to the courts at the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex watching the final matches of the North Suburban Conference meet, MacDonald resting her head on Parola.
Comfy. Confident.
“We can hit with the best, right? a smiling MacDonald said.
The state's best include Lake Forest's top doubles team of Faith Bassiouny and Taya Zoubareva. The two players, who helped the Scouts cruise to the title, won first doubles with a 6-4, 6-2 win over sophomore Gabby Demchenko and freshman Danielle Vasiliev of runner-up Stevenson. But they had a more difficult match in the semifinals, where they outlasted MacDonald and Parola 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes Friday.
Bassiouny and Zoubareva placed third in the state last year. MacDonald and Parola capped their first season as doubles partners with a top-16 finish on state courts.
“After our Lake Zurich match (a 6-2, 6-0 win in the quarterfinals Friday), we got off the court and we were like, ‘OK, now we're playing Lake Forest and there's nothing to lose,' Parola said. “We just wanted to go out and play our solid shots. Right after the match, I realized that if you come to play, you can compete with the best.
“We played, by far, the best match we've played together in our history of tennis.
“We were mentally together the whole match, MacDonald said. “We were communicating great, and we were hitting our shots. We went into the match underdogs, and we knew that we had absolutely nothing to lose.
Encouraged by their effort, despite the outcome, MacDonald and Parola showed up Saturday morning brimming with confidence. They hit to get their rhythm back and then avenged a regular-season loss to Libertyville's Meghan Ahlgrim and MK Lee, winning 7-5, 6-2.
“We had so much more confidence going into this match, Parola said.
“We were like, ‘If we could keep up with Lake Forest, we can have a good match with Libertyville, as well,' MacDonald said. “That match (against Lake Forest), I almost took it as a win. Even though we lost, we obviously improved a lot.
“I'm just really proud of our improvement this year.
Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope was proud of his Patriots, who totaled 29 points in finishing second to Lake Forest (40). Libertyville (20.5) edged Warren (19.5) for third, with Mundelein (14.5) fifth and host Lake Zurich (12) sixth.
Stevenson got four of its five entries to the finals. Included was the Patriots' No. 3 doubles team, which was seeded third. Meghan Merritt/Ai Kashii upset second-seeded Sharon Guan/Arantxa Garcia-Escobar of Libertyville 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the semifinals.
The match was completed Saturday after being suspended by darkness Friday with the second set tied 3-3.
“It was a battle, Stanhope said. “Libertyville's a good team. They have an established record, they've been playing together all year, and they deserved to be the (No.) 2 seed.
Lake Forest won each flight, getting other first-place efforts in singles from Maddie Lipp, who defeated Mundelein's Ari Dechter (6-0, 6-1) at No. 1, and Katie Zordani, who topped Stevenson's Trish Chari (6-0, 6-1) at No. 2.
The second-doubles championship went to Lake Forest's Elizabeth Zordani and Haleigh McPeek, who were 6-2, 6-1 winners over Stevenson's Lizzy Ettleson and Lindsey Hahn in the finals.
At No. 3 doubles, Lake Forest's Megan Morris and Catherine Orfanos captured their crown with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Stevenson's Merritt and Kashii.
Stevenson freshman Alexxis Kiven took third at No. 1 singles, defeating Warren senior Michelle Dutt 6-3, 6-4. Libertyville's Nicole Klein beat Warren's Kim Mella for third at second singles.
The No. 2 doubles' third-place match went to Warren's Jenna Westerberg and Max Mella, who were 6-3, 6-0 victors over Lake Zurich's Mel Wilson and Josie Willman. Libertyville's Guan and Garcia-Escobar rebounded from their semifinal loss to Stevenson's Merritt and Kashii by beating Warren's Nicole Nelson and Nicole Suchsland 6-4, 6-3 for third at three doubles.
Fifth-place finishers also won medals. They included Libertyville's Sarah Paulson (No. 1) and Lakes' Rachel Loos (No. 2) in singles, and the doubles teams of Lake Zurich's Kristy Peterson/Sam Wilson (No. 1), Wauconda's Heidi Keblusek/Cathy Miller (No. 2) and Vernon Hills' Monica Lozovaty/Rachel Jacoby (No. 3).