Girls tennis: Hersey's Osiecki stellar at BG Invite
Teams gathered together at the Buffalo Grove Bison Invitational to get their taste of the IHSA state tournament site Saturday morning. The doubles flight took place at Buffalo Grove, while the singles were played at Wheeling.
After it was said and done, York took home the BG Invite first-place plaque posting 49 points winning in five of the eight position championships. Libertyville followed suit with 33 points, while area team Hersey fell to third with 31 points.
Invite host Buffalo Grove took fifth place with 21 points.
Hersey freshman No. 1 singles player Natalie Osiecki bested exceptional high school tennis talent as she took home gold medal honors.
Osiecki's road to the championship started with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Warren's Natalia Zamora in the first round. Her next two rounds included bouts with two players that have totaled three years of state tournament experience.
Osiecki defeated Libertyville sophomore Lily VanDixhorn 6-4, 6-0. VanDixhorn was one-half of Libertyville's freshman tandem that won a match at the state tournament last year.
The Hersey freshman moved to the championship where she faced off against Maine South senior Jennifer Ptak who took a year off of tennis, but has six wins in her first two years in prior state tournaments. Osiecki notched a 6-3, 6-0 victory over the senior 6-3, 6-0.
Osiecki is still getting used to the team environment, but she's embraced the entire process.
"It's really nice to have a team," Osiecki said. "There's a lot of support and everyone was really welcoming."
She continued, "The first set I'm always trying to see what the other player is doing so I can gain more confidence, but it's always good to win the first set. I like to watch the players' patterns and see what I can use against them and hopefully take advantage of a weakness."
It's been a handful of years since Hersey appeared in the top three teams of the Buffalo Grove invite.
The Huskies registered three medalists including junior no. 2 singles player Sydney Hemenway, who took second while No. 2 doubles Sara Stan/Natalia Smarzynski and No. 3 doubles Diana Spulber/ Katrina Jreisat won bronze.
"This is (Osiecki's) first challenging weekend of tennis," Hersey coach Shannon Meintzer said. "We looked up tennis reporting on UTP which any coach has for every opponent and (Osiecki) put in the extra time and played well. (Hemenway) plays with class and composure. Those two complement everyone else and everyone's level of play rises."
Buffalo Grove showcased two medalists in No. 2 singles player Emma Boyd and the No. 4 doubles team of Abby Torres/Natalia Matlag. Boyd defeated Maine South's Rebeka Krochmal 6-2, 6-0 and faltered to Hemenway in the semifinals 6-1, 6-1. Boyd notched the third-place finish over Warren's Meg Rubino. Torres/Matlag saw extended action as they battled in two three-set melees. After notching a win over the Maine South No. 4 doubles team, they faltered to York's team, who ultimately won, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.
After getting shut out in the second set against Cary-Grove's Olivia Schladt/Grace O'Malley, Matlag/Torres edged out their adversaries for third place with a 6-2, 0-6, 10-6 final.
"My partner is always positive," Matlag said. "If I didn't hurt my arm, it might have been a different story against York."
"We know what we can do," Torres said. "We have to keep the pace and practicing our skills. This invite prepares us for what teams are out there. We have to keep playing with a positive attitude."
Hersey and Buffalo Grove face off in an MSL East dual match on September 26.