Raiders want to keep the good times going

The only thing that beats a memorable regular season is a memorable postseason.

This season, the Bolingbrook girls tennis team had its first winning dual-meet record in more than a decade and now it has its sights on advancing players to the state finals.

Bolingbrook comes off a successful Southwest Suburban Conference meet where freshman Nneka Onyejiaka placed third at No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles player Jessica Ventura took fourth place which was two spots higher than what she was originally seeded.

"I don't view myself as a freshman when I'm out there. I want to view myself as any other player. If I think of myself as a freshman, I psych myself out," Onyejiaka said. "Playing in my first sectional meet will be tough, but I have practiced hard for this and I want to do well."

Bolingbrook coach Sargy Letuchy points to conference achievements as yet another way his team has improved this season.

"Those girls (Onyejiaka and Ventura) did a very nice job and in almost all the matches the girls had played their opponent better and the scores were closer," Letuchy said.

"That alone shows the improvement we have made this season. Sometimes it is not about the wins and losses. Sometimes it is about how far you have come along this season."

One of the keys to this year's team has been the team's overall chemistry. Letuchy is projected to have wide variety of ages on his postseason roster as all four classes will be represented. Three seniors, a junior, sophomore and freshman will together be fighting for the right to advance to the state meet.

"I think all of our players have come together this year and many of the players have been together for awhile now and I think that has really helped us greatly," Letuchy said. "All of the girls are comfortable around one another and I think each of them have seen their teammates improve their skills and that does wonders for chemistry and continuity."

A big help for Bolingbrook this postseason is it's hosting the sectional Friday and Saturday.

"There is a home-court advantage because players seem to be more comfortable," Letuchy said. The court is where the girls practice. They know the conditions, they know the surroundings and they don't have to get on a bus and travel somewhere. It isn't a big advantage, but it is still an advantage."

The sectional contains two schools from the Southwest Suburban Conference as Joliet and conference powerhouse Lockport will be at Bolingbrook.

Also included will be all of the Plainfield high schools along with district rival Romeoville and both Joliet Catholic and Providence Catholic.

"We face some pretty good teams and if our effort is there, I like our chances in trying to move girls on to state," Letuchy said. "I think this season is the best chance we have had in a while to move a girl on to the state meet."

The team got a close look at one of the sectional schools in a Tuesday dual meet with Romeoville.