Benet duo falls short at state

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Despite the rain and the long car rides to indoor courts, and long waits for those courts, Joyce Hanlon of Benet thought this week's state tennis tournament was a positive experience.

And she should.

Hanlon and her doubles partner Kelly Carney, both seniors, were impressive in winning three matches at state before losing Friday in the fourth round 6-3, 6-3 to Marika Cusick and Kristy Hamilton of defending state-champion Hinsdale Central.

"It was a great experience," Hanlon said. "We've never made it this far in state before. And it was a pleasure playing with Kelly. We're a great team and we became good friends off the court."

The Benet duo, which finished the season with a 32-2 record, showed that they were among the state's elite, but it would have taken a perfect match for them to beat the second-seeded Hinsdale Central team.

"They had a great run," Benet coach Bob Comerford said. "But playing decent wasn't good enough today. They would have had to be at the very top of their game to beat the Hinsdale Central girls, who were on fire. Every time our girls were out of position at all, Hinsdale made them pay."

"Hinsdale got every ball back," Hanlon said. "We'd hit a great shot and they got to everything. They would hit a little deeper and a little better and we couldn't touch it. We did play tough though; there a lot of deuce games."

The two days of tennis were filled with setbacks and hardships that everyone had to face because of the inclement weather.

IHSA officials cancelled the back-draw, which turned state into a single-elimination tournament.

There were also long drives to the indoor facilities that agreed to fill in as emergency venues, and once the players got to those racquet clubs, there was often a long wait for the courts that were being used by club members.

"We waited four hours for our last match," Hanlon said. "We went out for a run, did a lot of stretching and did everything we could to keep the blood flowing. And it was very crowded in the lobby. It was hard to get back in the zone. But, you have to play the hand you're dealt. But it was nice playing inside because we didn't have to deal with the wind."

"It was a great tournament for Joyce and Kelly," Comerford said. "A great way for them to close their Benet careers. They've been such assets to our program and leaders for their teammates."