Girls tennis: Barrington turns the tables on Fremd
Fremd and Barrington played a little role reversal in this year's MSL West match, as the Fillies bested the Vikings 4-3 Wednesday.
In last year's meeting, Barrington had not lost an MSL West match in several seasons. The Fillies had not relinquished the Mid-Suburban League girls tennis crown in 23 consecutive seasons.
Fremd (10-1, 4-1) defeated the Fillies in 2017 and went on to win the MSL conference title and the Hersey sectional, sending all four positions to the IHSA state tournament (Diya Matta, Kyra Emmanoulidis, Kellie Ha returned to the team). Barrington sent two doubles team to the Buffalo Grove-hosted championship tournament (Niyanthi Puliyala, Kathleen Tomasian are the two remaining players).
The Fillies (8-1, 2-0) had a bone to pick in the Wednesday installment as they wanted a little revenge.
"I think it was a calculated gamble," said Barrington coach Tracy Waters-Miller. "We knew how tough Fremd was, and we went in knowing that everybody counts or nobody counts. Stay focused - it's one point, one match. It's about working on being in the present."
Fremd nursed a 3-2 lead as two matches remained on the courts - Vikings No. 1 senior singles player Diya Matta versus Fillies junior No. 1 singles player Niyanthi Puliyala and Barrington No. 3 duet sophomore Nisha Janamanchi/senior Barbara Covek against Fremd's No. 3 tandem sophomore Katie Sze/senior Eliza Beth Lubeck.
Matta and Puliyala are both state qualifiers. Matta punched her ticket twice as a singles player, while Puliyala gained a berth in 2017 with then partner and current senior teammate Kathleen Tomasian.
Matta and Puliyala battled back and when the Fillies' No. 1 singles player ultimately notched a first-set victory 7-5, Puliyala recorded a second set win 6-2 over the Viking senior.
"Doubles was a huge change, because you don't see much of that in USTA," Puliyala said of her success in 2017. "This (win) is definitely a confidence boost. Winning this match means a lot to me, but I don't want to look too far into it. There's still a lot of time left in the season. I have to keep moving forward. I'm glad to be back to what I'm used to."
As a junior Puliyala has dealt with several injuries. She suffered from stress fractures and a compartment release on her shin. Her sophomore year was her first year on the team.
Matta and Puliyala are no strangers to one another. The two have faced off in prior years in USTA. Matta registered wins in two of the last three meetings.
Three courts down, Sze/Lubeck won a nail-biter 7-6 (8-6) in the first set topping Fillies Covek/Janamanchi in a tiebreaker. Although they dropped the first set, Covek/Janamanchi recorded running victories of 6-0, 6-2 to officially grab the team win over Fremd.
"They came out better today," said Fremd coach Scott Newmark of the Fillies. "This is our first loss of the season. But I told the girls that it's hard to do something twice in a season, so we just have to come back with more hunger. Tracy had her team eager and ready. We know what to expect. I expect to see a completely different (Vikings) team come October 6 (the MSL conference meet). We will finish strong."
Other Fremd winners included No. 1 doubles team sophomore Kyra Emmanoulidis/freshman Akari Matsuna over Fillies senior twosome Mounika Gadiraju/Kathleen Tomasian 6-0, 6-0.
Viking sisters Kellie and Gracie Ha posted a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Barrington senior duet Caroline Tomasian/Julia Pisani and No. 2 junior Viking Jane Bodensteiner defeated sophomore Sam Kim 6-1, 6-2.
Other Barrington triumphs were notched by freshman No. 3 singles player Nurayn Khan with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Vikings sophomore April Wu while senior Alvi Saira/sophomore Sofia Hutchinson recorded a win 6-3, 6-1 conquest over Fremd senior siblings Emma and Chloe Johnfroe.
"I do feel that we're the underdog," Waters-Miller said. "It was a team effort to win today and I'm happy with what we did."