Jacobs claims another title
Jacobs senior Heather Graham wasn't supposed to be in this situation.
In an ideal world, Graham would have been playing for a shot in the IHSA state tournament as a singles competitor. As it was, Graham and fellow senior Aimee Neilan rose to the occasion in doubles competition and won a championship at Saturday's Larkin sectional.
"My knuckles are still bruised," Graham joked, demonstrating how she and Neilan celebrated a good point. "We weren't supposed to be in this spot."
Graham, who qualified for state as a junior in doubles last season, and Neilan entered as the No. 4 seed on Saturday. The duo bested the No. 1 seeded South Elgin duo of Dana Hildebrandt and Jordan Ferry, 6-3, 7-6 in the semifinals.
The momentum carried the seniors into a 6-1, 6-2 victory over teammates Kellie Stoka and Melissa Blunk in the title match.
"(South Elgin) was definitely a tough match," Neilan said. "But we pulled it out and won and it definitely helped us play against Kellie and Melissa."
The top 2 doubles finishes and a singles championship by senior Jen Ruther gave Jacobs its fourth straight sectional championship. Jacobs (22), was followed by South Elgin (11), Dundee-Crown (9), Huntley (8) and Elgin Academy (6).
"Our doubles teams played some really solid tennis against some really solid South Elgin teams," Golden Eagles' coach Jon Betts said. "It's tough to play your teammate. It's a great spot for me, but it's a tough to put the players through that."
Ruther did not have to play a teammate in the singles final, this year.
Ruther, who fell to teammate Annie Smith in the sectional championship last season, made her mark with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Elgin Academy's Bianca Swegler. Swegler's second-place finish marks her first trip to state.
Ruther did not drop a game on the day, winning all 4 matches 6-0, 6-0.
"It wasn't an option to lose," Ruther said. "I reached my goal. I went into this knowing I couldn't drop a single game. It's important for seeding for state."
While Ruther was concerned about her seeding, Dundee-Crown's Alle Ballester and Hunltey's Heather Nieman were just happy to be there.
The duo squared off for the third time this season, as Ballester took the regular season match and Nieman won at the Fox Valley Conference meet.
This time, Ballester, took a heated 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7- 3) victory. The win marks the first trip to state for the sophomore, who hopes to make it an annual journey.
"She returned basically all of my shots," Ballester said. "This was an important match. I'm just excited to be going."
Nieman's fourth-place finish marks a historic placing for a Huntley tennis player. Nieman is the first Red Raider in the girls tennis program to qualify for state. Not bad for someone who was eliminated in her first match in last year's sectional.
"I'm really excited to be the first (girl) from Huntley," Nieman said. "It's really cool to be the first one."
In doubles, Hildebrandt and Ferry rebounded from their loss to Neilan and Graham to take a 6-5, 6-2 third-place match over teammates Nessa Saeng and Brittany Boelter. All 4 seniors qualified for state
Hildebrandt and Ferry qualified as a doubles team their sophomore year, with Saeng and Boelter both punching their state tickets for the first time this season.
At Cary-Grove: Prairie Ridge won the Cary-Grove sectional title with 25 points. Crystal Lake Central (12) was second and CL South (11) third. State qualifiers in singles included Nelle Youel from Crystal Lake Central, Carolyn Huerth and Nikiki Cernikova of Prairie Ridge and freshman Beth Hughes from Cary-Grove. Qualifying in doubles was Jackie and Julie Schwartz from Prairie Ridge and teammates Lauren Nissen and Hannah Gummerson. Abbey Kolarczyk, Stephanie Brunetti and teammates Linana Semchuck and Laura Roesslein all from Crystal Lake South also qualified for state.