Girls tennis: Heuser/Hackman semifinal matchup set in Class 1A
Two foes familiar with one another from Northern Lake County Conference play will meet up again on Saturday in the Class 1A girls tennis state tournament.
Wauconda senior Sarah Hackman and Lakes freshman Megan Heuser will meet in the semifinals when play resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at Buffalo Grove High School.
Just last week, those two met to decide the championship of the Class 1A Antioch sectional, with Heuser prevailing 6-1, 6-3.
On Friday, Hackman started with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Kaneland's Madelyn Jurasek and followed up with a 6-3, 6-0 decision over Effingham St. Anthony's Emilee Mossman.
Heuser was dominant as well, getting a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Chicago Acero/Cruz's Nicole Lao and winning her quarterfinal matchup with Maria Rivas of Chicago Lake View 6-0, 6-1.
After two days of competition, Hinsdale Central leads the pack of Class 2A teams with 20 points. Whitney Young and Highland Park are tied with 18 points in second place, while Hinsdale South and Stevenson are knotted with 17 in fourth. Fremd is tied for eighth place with Deerfield at 12 points.
In Class 1A, North Shore Country Day tops the field with 19 points. Glenwood is next at 15 points, and there is a four-way tie for third between Lake View, Walter Payton, St. Anthony and University with 12 apiece.
Stevenson seniors single standout Zoe Taylor along with the doubles tandem of senior Katherine Harvey and junior Elizabeth Ferdman were eliminated from championship bracket play but remain alive in the backdraw.
Harvey, a four-time state qualifier who has a doubles championship and runner-up finish on her resume, started Friday by teaming with Ferdman for a 6-1, 6-1 win over Loyola's Maggie Hines/Elizabeth Witkowski in the third round of the front draw. However, the Patriots duo met their match against Whitney Young's Camryn Salter and Darinka Stepan in the quarterfinals, falling 6-3, 6-1.
"We still want to play the best we can," Ferdman said. "We can still place really high."
Harvey/Ferdman will meet Fremd seniors Julia Smiarowska/Kate Bodensteiner on Saturday in the consolation semifinals.
Earlier this year, the Stevenson doubles tandem faced off against Smiarowska/Bodensteiner in mid-September at the Fremd invite and captured a 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) victory.
"We've worked so hard this year," Harvey said. "We're still in it. Every match matters. It feels good that our teammates will be there watching because it takes off the pressure. When it comes down to it, we're all one team, and we have to finish hard."
Taylor earned a dramatic victory Saturday morning over Wheaton North's Madeline Fidel 3-6, 7-6, (10-9), 6-2. Taylor, who was seeded 5-8, ran into No. 2 seed Anastasia Goncharova of Evanston in the quarterfinals. Goncharova sent Taylor to the backdraw after winning 6-3, 6-3. Taylor moves on to play Auburn 9-16 seed Belen Nevenhoven on Saturday morning.
Both Harvey/Ferdman and Taylor meet their opponents at Hersey beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Stevenson's No. 2 doubles team, Alyssa Glasser/Bronwyn Heidkamp, lost a first match against Hinsdale Central, then came up with a 6-3, 6-3 decision against O'Fallon's Miley Brunner and Kate Macaluso before bowing out with a 6-0, 6-3 loss to Whitney Young's Mackenzie and Madison Beckham.
Patriots No. 2 singles player Athena Kolli lost her last match Friday to Palatine sophomore Kanae Kawai.
"There are still points available," said Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope. "We can't scoreboard-watch. We have to create energy, because some of those early matches in the backdraw can be a dead spot. We have to want to be there and want to play. If they have the drive, they can get it done."
Fremd's senior tandem of Kate Bodensteiner/Julia Smiarowska is the last of the Mid-Suburban League entries left playing, in the backdraw.
After dropping a 6-3, 6-3 match to 9-16 seeded Monique Brual/Samara Michael of Highland Park in the third round of the front draw, the 5-8 seeded Vikings regrouped and won two times in the backdraw at Schaumburg.
The Fremd twosome first defeated Oak Park-River Forest's Sophia Kreider/Maya Jamroz 6-2, 6-2, and then produced a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Benet Academy's Kendall Schrader/Daniella Nenadovich.
"That Highland Park team is a great team," Bodensteiner said. "They play a similar style, but they played better. (Highland Park) didn't miss at all and we played a little tentatively. It was hard to play after a loss like that, but we didn't want to go out on a bad note."
"I think since we're seniors, we can't play as tentative," Smiarowska said. "I'm excited to play and keep going. We have to keep a level head and focus on the match. Our last match has to be our best."
Fremd junior Diya Matta went 2-1 in singles on Friday. But Matta dropped her third-round consolation match to Sandburg 9-16 seeded Anna Loureiro 7-5, 7-5. Fremd sister duo Elsie and Kellie Ha and Kyra Emmanouilidis were eliminated Thursday, but both earned one win.
"I think each player had a positive experience and everyone surpassed my expectations," said Fremd coach Lauren O'Donnell. "Kate and Julia were eager to do as well as they did (in 2016). I will try to re-emphasize to them that this is the best arena to play tennis, and I'll tell them to leave it all on the line - play your best."
Bowing out Friday after strong performances were Barrington's senior doubles Nidhi Jha/Sara Amano (2A) and St. Viator seniors Patricia Dizon/Greta Zimmerman (1A).
"(Dizon and Zimmerman) started out as players with a lot of heart, but struggled with fundamentals," said St. Viator coach Amy Ritchie. "The two worked really hard to get where they are. They played well as a team, and they really gave it their best. I'm proud of them.
"Pat has a chance to play tennis, and I don't know if Greta wants to play in college, but we'll see. I think they're both ready to play beyond. That's the beauty of this sport - you can play till you're 90."
Both levels of the state tournament reconvene Saturday. The front draw will continue at Buffalo Grove at 9 a.m., while the backdraw moves to Hersey and begins at 8 a.m.