Glenbard West heads to state after sectional title

When the dust and the rain cleared, what seemed like a marathon tennis sectional was finally completed Oct. 19 and Glenbard West won the Downers Grove South Sectional championship 26 points to 23 over the host Mustangs.

While Downers Grove South singles champion Jenny Hois went through her bracket in two-set matches, the third place singles match, and all the final-four doubles matches took three sets to come up with a winner.

The Hilltoppers' Meredith Maltby finished second to Hois at singles.

The Glenbard West doubles team of Samantha Reedy and Molly Hennessy were crowned champions when they defeated their teammates Olivia Schwartz and Madeline Morris 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the finals.

"This was a good day for the team," Glenbard West coach Rob White said. "It's not the end of the season, but we're where we wanted to be at this point. I think we have a chance to get everyone seeded at state and Meredith should be in the top 12."

The top four singles and top four doubles in sectional competition qualify for state.

The two Glenbard West teams had earlier taken three sets to outduel Downers Grove South's two doubles in order to set up the all-Hilltoppers final.

Reedy and Hennessy defeated South's Chelsea Lavin and Laura Panozzo, 6-1, 7-5 , 6-4 and the Hilltoppers' Schwartz and Morris defeated Jen Alter and Dana Thornquist 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinals. Lavin and Panozzo won the all-Mustangs battle for third place in three sets.

Claire McNulty of Downers Grove North went to three sets before topping Jessica Urban of Lemont for third place 0-6, 7-6 (10), 6-4.

If White is happy with the team's performance this season, he's eager to see how far this very young team can go in the future.

Only Schwartz is a senior among the qualifiers, Maltby, and fellow-singles player Hannah Foth, who ran into Hois early in the draw, Reedy and Morris are sophomores, while Hennessy is a freshman.

"This is a very young team, but a competitive, talented and athletic team," White said. "All the kids play two or three sports and a lot of tennis. We try to get a little better every time we go out on the court. At state, everything will depend on the draw."

Put Downers Grove South coach Peter Freischlag on the list of Hilltoppers' admirers.

"Glenbard West is oozing talent," Freischlag said. "And they have fundamentally sound players. It was a great effort for our doubles teams to be in a position to beat them in those semifinals matches."

Just ask Wheaton Warrenville South doubles Andrea Kerwin and Melanie Milling who won the Naperville North Sectional and qualified for state as a team for the second year in a row.

"Every time you qualify for state feels good," Kerwin said. "Doing it as seniors is special because we're going out in a big way."

Milling said the repeat performance at sectional can be attributed to how hard the two have worked on their doubles game.

"We always feed off each other and we learn something new in every match and apply it in the next match," Milling said. "We're just upbeat and mentally tough. That's how we pull through."

"The more you play, the more you know how to improve things when they're not working," Kerwin said.

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing praised her doubles team for rebounding from a slow start to the season.

"At the beginning of the season, they weren't really attacking, and now they're looking for chances to end points with a lot of sharp angles and smart shot selection. They're using all their weapons."

The Tigers' Emma Li also qualified for state.

"It's a good feeling and I'm ready for the competition at state," Li said. "My goal is to just play my best."

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