Girls tennis: Benet tops Naperville North
One thing for certain about this point in the girls tennis season: No team lineup is etched in stone.
Benet defeated host Naperville North on Wednesday afternoon 4-3, with both teams trying to find out where players fit best into the lineup.
"We're a work in progress, trying to find the right combinations. We're OK on singles. But we're trying to make sure we are OK at doubles," said Redwings coach Michael Hand.
Benet won both singles matches as Allyce Gaborik prevailed at No. 1 singles and Caroline Arnold won at No. 2. Arnold is the lone returning player from last season's Class 1A championship squad. Arnold won three matches at state and finished in the sixth round of the singles consolation bracket.
She said being the only returning player who was at state has kept the team focused on the present and not the past.
"It's still great walking past that trophy, though. It was a really good experience," Arnold said.
She added that she used the experience to prepare over the summer for the upcoming season.
"I worked on my offense game. I have become more focused on offense trying to hit shots that will end in a point instead of just hitting it back," Arnold said.
Hand said Arnold's game isn't about power, but it works.
"She does what she needs to do. She'll make you work for every point. She's not going to give you free points," he said.
The other Benet wins came at No. 1 doubles courtesy of Kendall Schroeder and Daniella Nenadovich and the No. 3 doubles pair of Maddie Becker and Lauren Immink.
Naperville North scored team points at No. 2 doubles thanks to Chandani Basal and Sania Hussain, at No. 4 doubles with Alejandra Sosa and Kayla O'Connor and at No. 5 with Roxie Smith and Jennifer Ray. Huskies coach Heather Henricksen said she's also trying to find the right combinations for Naperville North's lineup.
"We're a young team and just trying to find out what will work for conference and sectionals," she said.
Freshman Tiffany Zhang has been the team's No. 1 singles player so far this season, and Kavya Rachapalli has been in the No. 2 slot. Henricksen put them at No. 1 doubles for Wednesday's meet for the first time. Rachapalli, a junior, went 3-2 into the fourth-round consolation bracket with the now-graduated Brooke Stensby at state last season.
"I thought the person in back and the net person being aggressive worked well today for us," Rachapalli said.
The Huskies return to their home court Thursday against Wheaton North. Benet returns to action Saturday at the St. Charles East Invitational.