Girls tennis: Fenwick edges Libertyville to take title at Fremd
It was a good day for the Libertyville girls tennis team Saturday as the Wildcats competed in the powerful Fremd Invitational in Palatine.
Libertyville opened the day in the dual-meet style tournament by sweeping past Hersey by a final score of 5-0 before easily toppling Buffalo Grove 4-1 in the second round.
The final round was a competitive one, but it was powerhouse squad Fenwick that beat the Wildcats 3-2 to take home the championship of the eight-team meet while Libertyville took home runner-up honors.
Buffalo Grove put together a strong tourney as the Bison defeated St. Charles East 4-1 in the first round before defeating the host Vikings 4-1 in the final round to take third place in the tourney.
Fremd beat Schaumburg 4-1 in the opening round before losing to Fenwick 5-0 in the second round.
Libertyville senior Maggie Forkner (9-1) continued to shine for the Wildcats as she went 3-0 on the day at No. 1 singles, including a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Fenwick to close out the day with the hot sun really beating down on the players on this late summer day.
"I thought I did play well. I think my serve was a lot better going into these matches, and especially the last match I was very confident in my shot selection and my serves," said Forkner, who placed sixth in the state as a junior. "Winning conference and probably winning sectionals is one of my goals. At state, I would say just get higher than sixth place and just make sure I finish my high school season career on a better note than I finished my junior year."
In another No. 1 singles match, St. Charles East's Kelsey Jacob beat Buffalo Grove's Maya Belorusskiy 6-3, 6-1. In No. 2 singles, Buffalo Grove's Mia Whippo beat Libertyville's Alex Davis 6-4, 6-3 while Buffalo Grove's Hanna Boehm defeated St. Charles East's Ana Avila 6-2, 6-2.
"The dual-team format was fun for the girls. We get more players competing and we also get more coaching in," said Libertyville coach Dan Kiernan. "Fenwick is a good team so they beat us today. Maggie (Forkner) did a nice job holding her ground in the second set (against Fenwick). She was down 2-4 and she came back very confidently. She turned that around pretty quickly there with just some good shots and just playing her tennis."
Buffalo Grove's No. 1 doubles team of Val Kononchik and Isabello Whippo won 6-4, 6-4 over St. Charles East while Belorusskiy won No. 1 singles against Fremd. Mia Whippo won No. 2 singles against the Vikings. Libertyville's No. 2 doubles team of Taya Breslow and Hadley Warren went 1-1 on the day.
"I'm happy with how the girls fought the whole day," said Buffalo Grove coach Mark MacDonald. "I don't think we've ever even gotten close to fourth in this tournament so this is a watershed moment for us."
Fremd coach Scott Newmark was still pleased with his squad taking fourth place in the long day of competition. Fremd's No. 1 doubles team of Kate Lee and Rachel Martin beat the Bison 10-6 in a third-set tiebreaker to end the day.
"Our team is very new so we're still figuring out things to do with our lineup," said Newmark. "But overall I'm just pleased with the way that they competed. They never gave up and we've always had a No. 1 doubles team that is emblematic of who we are. They work hard, fight hard, and they figure out a way to win even when they are just not playing anywhere close to their best."