Girls tennis: Glenbard West snares title at Rolling Meadows
After a few rain interruptions, Glenbard West's girls tennis team took home the Mustang Invite title after its top singles players took first and second place respectively, and its doubles teams took third and fourth place at Rolling Meadows Saturday.
Fremd took second place with 46 points, and Benet finished third with 32.
Other area teams competing included Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and St. Viator in the sectional-formatted invitational.
Glenbard West netted its first Mustang Invite title outright. Last season, the Hilltoppers tied Fremd for first place. The Hilltoppers finished tied for sixth in the 2017 IHSA Class 2A state tournament (tied with New Trier) and are gearing up for a similar season in this year's edition.
Glenbard West's No. 1 singles player, Sienna Lopez, notched first place honors at the Rolling Meadows contest. She is a two-time state qualifier after completing her freshman campaign in the top 16 and picking up three wins in 2017 until she defaulted in the consolation bracket.
On Saturday, Lopez registered wins against Schaumburg junior Bella Borla 6-0, 6-1, Ottawa junior Caroline Austgen 6-0, 6-1 and a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lake Zurich senior Sophia de los Reyes. Lopez would have met her freshman sister Shannele in the finals, but the two did not face off as Shannele defaulted.
"(Sienna Lopez) played awesome throughout the day," said Glenbard West coach Kevin Graham. "(Sienna) only dropped a couple of games total. (Shannele) played great tennis. (Shannele) had some tough games against (Benet sophomore Daniella Nenadovich) and (Schaumburg freshman Emma Tatar). (Tatar and Nenadovich) are really tough players. It's so important to be playing your best tennis against good players. It takes good matches against high quality players to make it to state."
The Fremd tandem of sophomore Kyra Emmanouilidis and freshman Akari Matsuno remained undefeated on the season as they triumphed over the field.
The Viking duo handed losses to Benet Academy's Isabelle Telford/Kara Hand 6-0, 6-0, St. Viator's Emma Zajac/Tess McLaughlin 6-0, 6-0 and Glenbard West's Emma Chirila/Ashley Samuta 6-1, 6-1.
Emmanouilidis/Matsuno battled teammates senior Diya Matta/junior Kelli Ha in a 10-point tiebreaker. The Viking freshman-sophomore team edged Matta/Ha 10-8 for the gold.
"It's really competitive," Emmanouilidis said. " (Chirila/Samuta) are a pretty solid team that had some hard shots. It's fun playing top teams and it gives us confidence playing in the postseason. It feels like we have a target on our back so it's kind of nerve wracking. But it's fun looking forward (to sectionals and state)."
The Glenbard Wests doubles teams of Sophia Faucey/Sarah Burke and Chirila/Samuta played for the bronze. After the Hilltopper duos faltered to the Fremd teams, they played their own 10-point tiebreaker. Faucey/Burke topped their teammates 10-4.
Burke is also a returning state qualifier. Burke and her graduated partner Claire Burelbach tallied two wins at state last season.
"Both doubles teams are playing with their partners for the first time this season," Graham said. "There's definitely a level of chemistry as the season goes on and there wasn't initially. They've become comfortable with each other and learned the role they take on the doubles court; who is the more aggressive net player and who is a better ground player. They've learned that about their partner and now know how to react to each other."
Another top area finisher was Schaumburg freshman Emma Tatar.
The Saxons' No. 1 singles player logged wins against Ottawa senior Natalie Tabor (6-0, 6-0), Rolling Meadows freshman Hannah Haber (6-4, 6-2) and after faltering to Shannele Lopez in the semifinals (6-1, 6-3), Tatar notched a bronze finish over de los Reyes 6-1, 6-2.
"(Tatar has) been dedicated and has transitioned nicely to the team atmosphere," said Schaumburg coach Ari Kazan. "(Tatar) understands the multidimensional aspect of tennis as she continues to work hard to be reflective and optimistic. She's a competitor. She's patient and talented and she works to always figure out her game plan."
Postseason play begins next week. Fremd, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg play in the Mid-Suburban League tournament at Buffalo Grove. Glenbard West moves on to play in the West Suburban Conference tournament. St. Viator and Benet face off at the East Suburban Catholic Conference tournament at Benet.