Area tennis players wrap up successful seasons

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It was only a short time after Wheaton-Warrenville South's senior doubles team of Andrea Kerwin and Melanie Milling lost their fourth-round match and ended their illustrious high school tennis careers Oct. 23.

Tigers coach Patti Clousing was already missing the dynamic duo that has accomplished so much the past two years.

They won the DuPage Valley Conference first doubles and the Naperville North doubles championships twice, and then went on to state to finish in the top 32 as juniors and the top 16 this season as they ended the year with a 37-6 record.

"They have so much talent and they work so incredibly hard," Clousing said. "That kind of work ethic doesn't come along all the time. They always wanted to get better and achieve. They worked very hard in the offseason to prepare for high school tennis."

Clousing said Kerwin and Milling have been the heart of the Tigers, for two years as a doubles team and as four-year varsity players.

"A coach is blessed when you have kids with that kind of talent at the top," Clousing said "You put them out there and expect them to win and they come through. The more they win, the higher their expectations. And that determined attitude communicates itself to the rest of the team."

In addition to their outstanding work on the tennis court, Kerwin and Milling are active in other activities.

"They're both on the school leadership council and they do a great job on that," said Clousing. "They do volunteer work in the summertime and they're active in Tuesday Night Tigers, in which our students bring in little kids and play a different sport with them every week. Andrea and Melanie haven't missed a Tuesday. They both have big hearts for community service."

The senior- heavy Tigers will also be losing second doubles Meg Munsing and Svenja Schroeder, as well as starters Katie Ottilin, Kara Bimschlager, Jessica Rhoads and Ellen Cornelius, who placed second in the DVC at fourth singles.

But Clousing will have first singles Emma Li, a state qualifier as a freshman, third singles Lauren Castillo, and Zoe Smith, returning from an injury-plagued season, so the Tigers won't exactly be starting from scratch.

It might have been a mild surprise to some when 5-8 seeded Jerricka Boone, a freshman from Morgan Park, won the state tennis singles championship Oct. 24, but it didn't shock Glenbard West coach Rob White or the Hilltoppers talented sophomore Meredith Maltby at all.

Maltby lost to Boone 6-2, 6-1 in third-round play and what the Hilltoppers saw was a powerful player whose potential was unlimited.

"Meredith knew Jerricka from USTA tournaments," said White. "And we agreed that Jerricka has grown into a different player. She's very powerful, she's quick enough to cover the entire court She doesn't get flustered. He forehand is unrelenting and she hits a very flat ball that's moving extremely fast. She just overpowered everybody, and for a freshman that's pretty impressive."

Maltby stayed close for a while in the first set, as Boone led 3-2 and they were exchanging sharp angle shots from the baseline.

"Early on, it was a chess match," White said. "But then Meredith tried to mix things up and she ran out of things to try to dent the armor."

White thought the only chance Maltby had was to get up to the net and take control, but "Jerricka kept going down the line with those powerful forehand shots and she didn't miss much."

"Meredith is a very strong player. She played very well in all her state matches and I'm certain she'll advance further at state next year." White said. "But Friday (Oct. 23), she just ran out of shots. Jerricka didn't just win the tournament. She beat everybody."