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No change at the top after rain-soaked day at tennis state
Marian Catholic's Gaby Rosales competes Friday at the girls state tennis tournament. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 19, 2012 8:40PM
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — The second day of the girls state tennis tournament was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Friday, but a persistent rain delayed the start time by more than six hours and moved the championship matches indoors.
Players in the championship brackets — those who remain undefeated — only played one match Friday, which resulted in little movement in the team standings. Lake Forest (27 points) leads defending champion Hinsdale Central (25) by two points as New Trier (24) lingers in third.
Lake Forest hasn’t specifically talked about what each match means to the school’s chance for a team title, but the Scouts know why advancing in the tournament — especially against players from Hinsdale Central and New Trier — is so vital.
“We know that each match is important for all of the team because we’re only winning by (two),” said Lake Forest freshman Christina Zordani, who teamed with senior Maddie Lipp to breeze by New Trier’s Cammy Frei and Kirstie Woodbury, 6-3, 6-1 on Friday.
Zordani’s sister Elizabeth, a junior, won her singles match Friday to give the Scouts another entry into the state quarterfinals, which begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Buffalo Grove.
Elizabeth Zordani’s quarterfinal opponent will be Naperville Central freshman Tiffany Chen, who pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament thus far. Chen defeated No. 1 seed Caroline Ryba, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 on Friday. Chen’s upset over the Glenbrook South junior came one day after Hinsdale Central’s Tiffany Chen and Katie Lee, the No. 2 seed in the doubles bracket, were upset by St. Ignatius’ Michelle Demeo and Bethany Lynch.
Other than those two matches and a three-set win by Marian’s Gaby Rosales over Mundelein senior Ari Dechter, all of the players seeded in the top eight in singles and doubles advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Glenbrook North seniors Anna Zelechonok and Katrine Zhadovich easily dismissed Hinsdale South’s Emma Adcock and Andrea Wakim to set the stage for a showdown against Lipp and Christina Zordani.
As fourth-year veterans of the state tournament, Zelechonok and Zhadovich used their past experience of waiting around for long stretches at the most important meet of the season to stay loose and ready for their fourth-round match, which they won 6-2, 6-0.
“We tried to move a little bit throughout (to) not get too sleepy, too tired and just stay pumped up,” Zelechonok said. “I feel like almost every year (there’s a long delay). I guess we’re used to it.”
