West, Waubonsie run into buzzsaws

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West Aurora and Waubonsie Valley ran into a couple of tough opponents in the four-team tournament the Blackhawks hosted Saturday.

York led the way, dropping only a pair of matches in the three dual contests. The Dukes improved to 17-4 in dual matches this season.

Wheaton Warrenville South, a DuPage Valley Conference foe of the Blackhawks, cruised to wins in its matchups against West (5-2) and Waubonsie (6-1).

In the opening round, the Blackhawks lost at No. 1 singles but took the other six matches against their crosstown foe.

West (10-8 in dual matches this season) was led by senior Brooke Henry and sophomore Jin Lee. Henry teamed with her freshman sister, Haley, to overwhelm Waubonsie's Bonnie Lin and Katie Westlake 6-0, 6-1. Then Brooke Henry moved to her normal spot at No. 1 singles and worked overtime to outlast York freshman Maria Avgerinos 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-3).

The Henry sisters were teamed up again in the final match against WW South. But they ran out of gas, falling 6-0, 6-0 to Melanie Milling and Andrea Kerwin, who played together all day and surrendered a total of three games.

Brooke Henry celebrated a milestone earlier in the week against West Chicago. She became only the 17th player in the history of the Blackhawks girls tennis program to achieve 100 wins.

"It feels good to get the 100th win, but this season has been a real battle for me," she said. "Some of the matches haven't been going my way, especially in the 10-point tiebreakers."

Henry, who recently made a verbal commitment to play at Division I South Dakota State next year, will be paired with her younger sister in the postseason.

"It's been fun to play with her, even though it can be frustrating," Brooke Henry said. "I try to give her tips on how to be more aggressive and get the points over with earlier."

Lee played at No. 3 singles against Waubonsie's Elizabeth Buchanan and earned a 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 win in the super-tiebreaker. The sophomore, who hits with two hands on her forehand and backhand, was in another marathon match against York. Lee and Kristin Holmes rallied for an 0-6, 6-2 (10-8) victory in No. 1 doubles. Lee finally had a breather in the final match, easily defeating WW South's Ellen Cornelius 6-1, 6-2.

"Jin has been a pleasant surprise for us," West coach Brian Brooks said. "She played varsity at East Aurora last year (before transferring). She didn't play at the Vaughan (Athletic) Center or any indoor tennis that I know of, so I had no idea she was coming in. Her dad is her teacher. She's been ripping the ball, playing great tennis."

Holmes was also a multiple winner for West. She teamed with Lizzy Griffen to defeat WW South's Megan Munzing and Svenja Schroeder 4-6, 6-3 (10-8).

Waubonsie was led by a pair of freshmen. Nadia Gonzalez prevailed over WW South's Ryana Morrison 2-6, 6-1 (10-6) in No. 4 singles. And Anna Reimers made her one singles match count, defeating York's Ellen Barry 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.

"We're struggling right now," Warriors coach Phil Galow said. "Our freshmen give effort and move around the court, and that's what I've been telling the seniors they have to do. My No. 1 singles (Jenna Eises) has lost a few matches, but she fights for everything. I'm concerned that my seniors are the ones that are lacking in confidence."

Other winners for the Warriors were Eises over West's Nicole Maenza 6-4, 6-3 in No. 1 singles, and the No. 3 doubles team of Monica Bater and Caitlin Fortuna against York.