Girls tennis: Stevenson's winning tradition continues at Prospect's Fall Classic
Stevenson's girls tennis program is making a tradition of winning the Fall Classic hosted by Prospect.
Another victory Saturday marked the fifth straight year as the tournament's top finisher.
The Patriots notched 77 points, with six out of the seven entries in their lineup making the finals. And five of those positions were champions.
Following the two-time defending state runner-up Patriots was New Trier in second place with 52 points and Highland Park with 48 in third.
The Mid-Suburban League and other area teams were well represented as Buffalo Grove, Conant, Fremd, Hersey, Prospect Rolling Meadows and East Suburban Catholic Conference team St. Viator were all competing.
In No. 1 doubles, Stevenson freshman tandem of Gina Kondos/Elizabeth Ferdman edged out their Libertyville foes Callie Klein/Dani Blaser 6-4, 6-4. In their first year of partner tennis together, the Kondos/Ferdman tandem also defeated Loyola 2015 state-qualifying team Maggie Hines/Caroline Witowski 6-3, 7-5.
"It's good to know that it's possible to beat teams that are state-qualifying teams," Ferdman said. "It gives us more confidence going into our next match. We have a really deep team and are playing at our best.
"We can't let other teams get in our head, and we also can't take anything for granted. We will be OK as long as we keep playing how we've been playing."
Solo first-place finishers included Stevenson No. 2 singles player Athena Kolli, who earned a 6-2, 6-3 win over Highland Park player Lily Tiemeyer. At No. 3, New Trier's Nikki Katz registered a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Stevenson's Maria Sarabia.
It's been tough for MSL players to earn finals berths in the Classic, but Fremd's No. 1 singles player demonstrated this year that it's not impossible.
Diya Matta battled her way into the final after defeating Conant's Gaby Kaminski 6-0, 6-0, Highland Park's Caitlin Goldberg 6-0, 6-4 and final surviving a tough semifinal triumph over New Trier's Ali Benedetto 3-6, 6-1, 10-7.
Matta's title run came to a close with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Deerfield's Emily Casati in the final. Still, it was a great step forward for Matta, who was not seeded.
"This gives me confidence with the injuries I've had this year," Matta said. "It shows me I can compete with them. I've played a lot of (her Saturday foes) in USTA tournaments, so I get to see what level I am at in and out of the season. I started off missing easy shots early, but I fixed it during the match. The more consistent I played the more confident I got."
All of the doubles finals were won by Stevenson duos: Kondos/Ferdman plus the No. 2 team of junior Kate Harvey/senior Paige Nierman, the No. 3 team of sophomore Sasha Zoubarava/junior Bronwyn Heidkemp and the No. 4 tandem of sophomore Alyssa Glaser/junior Sam Burger.
"This is really our first full tournament we've played over the weekend because of the rain or even dual matches where we have everyone healthy," said Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope. "It's good to see how we match up. With the sectional (sites) finally released we've been able to try different things to see where we are with the lineup.
"I'm happy with the result. The girls have put in a lot of work. It's great to see that we continue to find ways to win. The opponents will dictate what we do down road. We will be ready to play and (Saturday) shows that we can rely on our depth."
The sectional assignments have been released, and Hersey, Conant, Glenbrook South, Niles West and Vernon Hills will each host. The competition at the Hersey site includes Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Prospect, Fremd, Palatine Rolling Meadows, Wheeling and Hersey. Conant will host Elk Grove, Hoffman, Schaumburg and Conant. Glenbrook South's site will feature Maine West, while Niles West will have Leyden. St. Viator will compete at Vernon Hills.
"The next four weeks - that's the most important time," said Fremd coach Lauren O'Donnell. "There's great competition at this invite and it sets (Fremd) up for conference, sectionals and state. The girls did an outstanding job.
"We're very happy to have Diya, and happy to have a player that is so mentally tough like her. It's not surprising that she did this well."