Doubles final becomes a 'Sister Act'

Oswego East's Kylee Jackson stretches for a return during the doubles championship match Saturday at the West Aurora Sectional.

(Mary Beth Nolan/For The Beacon-News)

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The doubles final of the West Aurora Sectional turned out to be another version of "Sister Act."

Not only were the highly-touted Oswego East sisters Jourdan and Kylee Jackson in the final, but they were going up against the Henry sisters, Brooke and Haley, from West Aurora. In the match of the sectional, the Jacksons played inspired tennis in the third set to claim their second sectional title 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

But there were no losers Saturday. All of the participants had won Friday to guarantee top-four status that earns them a spot in this week's state tournament, starting Thursday at Prospect High School.

Rosary's Emily Reuland pulled off a three-peat, winning the sectional singles title for the third straight year (she was runner-up as a freshman). Reuland defeated Oswego East sophomore Kelly Zaprzal 6-1, 6-4.

On a chilly but dry day, the sectional team title went to Rosary for the second straight season. The Royals finished with 23 points, just ahead of Oswego East's 20. West Aurora had 14 points, followed by 12 for Waubonsie Valley and Oswego, eight for Yorkville, seven for IMSA and four for East Aurora. Aurora Christian and Aurora Central Catholic also participated.

But the sectional is all about getting players to the state tournament, and Rosary led the way there as well, with Reuland, Elizabeth Vertin, and the doubles team of Angelina Goheen and Katie King all making a return trip to state.

"We had a historic year for Rosary last season, so to come back and to do even better this season is a real accomplishment," Royals coach John Tsang said. "Depending on what Emily does this week, she could end up being the most decorated Rosary tennis player ever."

Jourdan and Kylee Jackson had to turn things around after the tall Henry tandem had their way in the second set. The Jacksons took control in the third set with consistent play, a willingness to use spin to change the pace, and above all, an adept touch at the net. In fact, the final four games were won with putaway volleys at the net.

Senior Jourdan and sophomore Kylee Jackson are now 30-1 this season after going 26-0 last year before the state tournament, during which they won three matches.

"Coach (Mike Dutton) said to poach more, do more fake poaches and just be more active around the net," said Jourdan of her duo's approach to the decisive third set.

Brooke and Haley Henry (a senior and a freshman) were paired together late in the season after playing singles most of the season for the Blackhawks. They raised the level of their game in the second set of the final, forcing the Jacksons to respond.

"They (the Henrys) are really athletic and cover a lot of the court, so it was a really tough match," said Kylee Jackson, who said the goal for the Jackson sisters is simply to improve on last year's state tournament results.

Reuland's victory in the singles final was more routine, although Zaprzal hit a number of quality ground strokes after Reuland (27-2) dominated the first five games of the match. Zaprzal, only a sophomore, held her serve to go up 4-3 in the second set, but Reuland held hers and then broke serve easily to take a 5-4 lead.

The backhand of Reuland will be a force to be reckoned with in her final quest for state hardware (she finished 14th last season by winning five matches). But she doesn't have a weakness anywhere in her game, bringing quickness, power, touch and strong serving to her opponents. And above all is a will to win, which fuels her aggressiveness in putting away the point. She lost her focus against Zaprzal after the blistering start, but came back for the victory.

"She (Zaprzal) started getting a lot of my shots back instead of hitting shots I could tee off on," Reuland said of her opponents inspired play after the first five games. "That threw me off, so I started missing a lot. I'm hoping to place top 10 at state, but I'd really like to get in the top five."

After getting throttled by Zaprzal 6-1, 6-1 in the semis, Vertin responded by defeating Oswego's Breanne Vergonet 7-5, 6-3 for third place.

In the other consolation matchup in doubles, IMSA's Adelina Koleva and Christina Cheng bested Goheen and King 6-2, 7-5. Koleva will be making a return trip to Mt. Prospect after winning a match there in 2008. Goheen and King also won a match together at state last season. Girls Tennis: West Aurora Sectional