With the conference and sectional tournaments around the corner, the Oak Park and River Forest and Fenwick girls tennis teams are looking for momentum. On Oct. 5, the Huskies and Friars met in a dual at the OPRF tennis courts. The Huskies won six of the seven matches, and head coach Fred Galluzzo was impressed with the outcome.
“I’ll take that 10 out of 10 times,” he said. “We’re feeling pretty good; it was a big win.”
The highlight of the day was an intense match between OPRF sophomore Lucy Stein and Fenwick senior Lily Brecknock. Stein won the first set 6-3, then won a hard-fought tiebreaker 8-6 to win the second set and the match.
Stein says she enjoys playing matches against high-caliber competition like Brecknock, the 2022 Class 1A individual champion.
“Every point matters,” said Stein, who qualified for last year’s state meet. “You can’t have any bad shots. You know it’s going to be a long match, and she is a really great player.”
Brecknock was disappointed by the outcome, but she also felt it will help her going forward.
“It was pretty frustrating,” she said. “I probably should’ve found a better way to win points. [But] I’ll play her again in a few weeks. She definitely presents a different game style, so it’s good practice.”
Another good match took place in #1 doubles as the Huskies’ duo of seniors Alice Cadwell and Maeve Marzec rallied after being down by three points in the first set to defeat the Friars’ duo of senior Caroline Gruber and sophomore Emma Louderback, 6-4, 6-4.
“We stayed consistent at the baseline and were really aggressive at the net,” Cadwell said. “It was one of our biggest matches we’ve played all year. Fenwick’s in our sectional, and this helps us with our seeding, which is going to be great.”
“It’s been a great season. We’ve been really doing well,” Marzec said.
OPRF’s other victories came at #2 doubles from seniors Anika Gupta and Sophie Welch (6-0, 6-1 over Fenwick seniors Rachel Abraham and Mia Menendez); #3 doubles from senior Baylee Piasecki and sophomore Ava Lebovitz (6-2, 6-1 over Fenwick seniors Elle Karls and Lily Claire Nottestad); #4 doubles from senior Sophia Lynn and freshman Ella Rangsithienchai (6-1, 6-3 over Fenwick juniors Maddie Cheronis and Sydney Woitel); and #5 doubles from juniors Tess Cronin and Zoe Panton (6-3, 6-4 over Fenwick juniors Olivia Perez-Zuleta and Katie McCarthy).
Senior Megan Trifilio notched the Friars’ only victory of the day at #2 singles, defeating OPRF junior Clara Lau 6-0, 6-0.
Even with the loss, first-year Fenwick coach Ron Rogala feels the season has gone well. He credits not only the leadership that experienced players like Abraham, Brecknock, and Trifilio have provided, but also the parents, who have been supportive of him since he replaced the now-retired Gerard Sullivan.
“It’s been great,” he said. “The thing that stands out to me is the depth we have in both singles and doubles.”
“I think the transition has gone pretty smooth because the girls have been pretty good with the change,” Brecknock said. “It hasn’t been a factor. We’ve won the (Girls Catholic Athletic Conference) for the past three years, so it’d be good to get four. Then at sectional, we want to qualify as many people as we can for state.”
OPRF is hosting a sectional, Oct. 18-19. But before that, the Huskies will compete at the West Suburban Silver championships, Oct. 11-12, at Lyons Township.
“We’re actually in pretty good shape in the conference. We’re currently second,” Galluzzo said. “I don’t know if that’s going to hold at the conference tournament because we’ll face different lineups and we’ll see if it goes in our favor.”
Fenwick will compete at the GCAC championship, Oct. 11, at XS Tennis Club in Chicago.