Wrap: Patriots net sectional crown

Giving nearly the same answer at the same time to a question is a sign of a badminton doubles team in synch.

Stevenson seniors Samantha Wei and Kerry Sullivan have a sectional title and second straight trip to the state tournament in Charleston as proof.

Wei and Sullivan beat Buffalo Grove sophomores Heather and Ashton Nisbet 21-15, 21-16 in the title match of the Buffalo Grove sectional Thursday night.

"We kept it together and kept positive," Sullivan said.

"We wanted it enough to win it," Wei said. "We came in here with determination and level heads."

Wei and Sullivan helped Stevenson (11.5 points) finish second to defending state champion Fremd (14), which won its seventh straight sectional crown.

Stevenson seniors Katie Lange and Ashley Gorson qualified by taking third with a 21-15, 21-18 win over Fremd's Marie Kania and Alice Liu. And Patriots' senior Alexis Karigan also advanced to state by finishing fourth in singles.

Wei and Sullivan finished fourth in the sectional last year but have a higher comfort level in their second year as a tandem. The sectional title improved their season record to 19-5.

"We know each other's strengths and weaknesses," Wei said. "We've improved a lot since last year … and we're not an easy pushover and a good opponent."

The duo's first match was their toughest as it went 3 games. Their win over the Nisbets was their second of the season.

"We played our game -- they gave us an opportunity and we just took it," Wei said.

"Sam is diving on the floor and I'm running into walls," Sullivan said. "We pride ourselves on not letting anything drop."

And they have higher hopes this time around after going 2-2 and losing in the third round of the consolation bracket last year.

"We want to win it all," Wei said.

"We want to win state," Sullivan said.

That would be a finish in perfect synch.

Boys soccer

Jim McNamara has kicked around plenty of decisions the past 16 years coaching for three different high schools -- Warren, Bartlett and Larkin.

Now he's made another one, helping out his family.

On Friday, McNamara resigned from his coaching post for the Warren boys soccer team.

"It came as a shock to a lot of people," said McNamara, who informed his players on the Blue Devils. "They didn't know how to respond, but most of them understood the situation. Now I can do that with my boys in making my decision."

McNamara has seven children and wants to spend more time with them.

He still wants to be involved in coaching and has accepted a position with the Elk Grove Soccer Club in Wisconsin in the U-11 and U-12 divisions

"I will still be teaching at Warren at the O'Plaine campus next year," McNamara said. "I was looking at options with my family. You see my army always together. Opportunities arose and I just jumped for them."

McNamara spent five years coaching at Larkin, five more at Bartlett and the last six at Warren. His overall record is 213-108-32.

McNamara hit the century mark for victories at Warren, where he is 103-30-16.

Included in that mark is a state runner-up trophy. The Blue Devils lost 1-0 to New Trier for the state title two years ago, the best any Lake County team has finished since Libertyville took second in 1986.

"The kids provided a lot of great memories," McNamara said. "It's been a good run."

During McNamara's tenure, the Blue Devils also had an Elite eight appearance, a North Suburban Conference championship and two NSC Lake division titles.

"(McNamara) was a breath of fresh air for the soccer program," said Warren athletic director Mark Pos. "He took it to the highest it's ever been. The only regret is that we didn't get a state championship.

"(McNamara) is a class act and he added a lot to the program. He was my first big hire and a big one for the school."

-- Rusty Silber

Baseball

Libertyville 7, Warren 6: Jeff Jenkins earned the complete-game win for the Wildcats (13-9), who received 3 hits from Tim Matheson.

Chase Guarnaccio and Tom Jacobson both had a pair of hits. Lee Gough contributed a double.

Jenkins recorded the game's final out with a strikeout with the bases loaded.

Stevenson 6, Lake Forest 3: Matt Robin struck out 15 batters in a complete-game effort for the Patriots (11-10). He yielded only 2 hits in the 7-inning effort.

Mundelein 3, Zion-Benton 2: Jack Walliser's RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth snapped a 2-2 tie.

Jamie Baldwin scored on the play and finished 2-for-4, as the Mustangs improved to 19-2 overall and 7-1 in the North Suburban Lake Division. Justin Piasecki and Alex Ahonen had doubles for Mundelein.

Ian McDermott pitched 4 innings in relief to earn the win.

Vernon Hills 3, Round Lake 1: Joey Nichols was stellar in his first varsity pitching start.

He threw 5 innings, allowing 1 unearned run, as he and Nick Mazza combined for a no-hitter in the North Suburban Prairie Division game.

Zack Schwartz and Jeff Epner drove in runs for Vernon Hills.

Lakes 2, Wauconda 0: Brian Baiocchi allowed 3 hits over 6 innings, striking out a pair for the Eagles in the North Suburban Prairie contest.

D.J. Szuhay's two-out single scored Kevin Kelly in the fourth for the only run Baiocchi needed.

Travis VanderWall also had an RBI single for Lakes (12-7, 6-2).

Wauconda fell to 12-7, 6-2.