No. 1 rankings usually place added pressure on athletes, coaches say. And most would probably agree that Michelle Matko and her West Aurora teammates are handling it well.
The Blackhawks won the team title and Matko defeated Oswego’s Karrie Tyioran for the singles championship Saturday at the West Aurora sectional. Matko brings a 32-0 record to the state tournament, which begins Thursday at various sites in the northwest suburbs.
“I had a really hard time getting into a rhythm,” Matko said. “Karrie always plays me tough. She’s very good at taking me out of my rhythm.”
After beating Tyioran 7-6 (7-1) in the first set, Matko, who was third at state last year, trailed 2-4 in the second set. Tyioran (22-3) led in the seventh game, but Matko was able to break serve and won three straight games to claim the match.
“This is probably the best tennis I’ve ever played against Michelle,” said Tyioran, who placed in the top eight at state last year. “Unfortunately, I made some unforced errors late in the match that cost me.”
Tyioran also advanced to the state finals, along with West Aurora’s Liz Moulthrop and Rosary’s Katie Stewart. Moulthrop defeated Stewart in the third-place singles match.
Matko’s sisters, twins Stephanie and Natalie Matko (32-0), won the doubles title with a defeat of teammates Rorry and Cara Kinnally. The Matko twins are defending state champs in doubles; the Kinnally sisters were undefeated heading into the sectional final.
West Aurora, the defending state champion, won the team title with 31 points. Oswego and Rosary tied for second with 12 apiece. “This is a team that has handled a great deal of pressure from the beginning of the season,” said West Aurora coach Brian Brooks, in his first year as girls tennis coach. “Since the first day of practice, people have asked us about the state tournament, and that was two months ago.
“This is the most talented team we’ve ever had. We’re still a very young team. Of our top 10 players, seven are freshmen or sophomores.”
Other sectional results:
Fremd: Top-seeded Lisa Pascual downed teammate Sara Victor 6-1, 6-0 to claim the singles title for the host Vikings, who scored 32 points and, for the first time in school history, qualified six individuals for the state meet–two doubles teams and two singles players. Rolling Meadows finished a distant second with 10 points.
Championship matches in both singles and doubles paired Fremd teammates against one another. Senior Shahnaz Agha teamed with Anne Howard to win the doubles title over Abbie Lockwood and Kim Musgrave 6-2, 6-4.
Hinsdale Central: Both of York’s top singles players advanced to the final–Gloria Okino prevailed over Megan Stewart 6-2, 6-1–but the Dukes fell short in the team standings to Hinsdale Central 28-27. Lorraine Coulter and Kate Williams beat teammates Christina Brown and Meena Anand 6-1, 5-2 for Hinsdale Central, which advanced both doubles teams and Shawna Zuccarini in singles to the state meet.
York’s doubles team of Alana Burny and Meghan Konrad advanced with a third-place finish.
Homewood-Flossmoor: The host Vikings, who won their only state title in 1989, scored 40 points to capture their 13th straight sectional championship. Sabrina Akrami (24-8), led H-F, beating teammate Cora Pontee 6-1, 6-1 in singles. “(Akrami) has come back real well after losing last week in the (SICA East) conference final,” H-F coach Jim Trudeau said.
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H-F’s doubles team of Allison and Melissa Levy downed teammates Nici Gilders and Gauri Kalokhe to improve to 23-13.
Conant: “Winning the sectional was our expectation,” said Conant coach Joyce Prarisi, whose team won with 26 points to Elgin’s 17. “Having both doubles team in the final was a bonus.” The Cougars’ Laura Bialas and Ami Thakkar topped teammates Kristen Cangiolosi and Jami Martin 6-1, 6-1 in the final. Elgin’s Laura DeHaan beat Conant’s Jaci Pawlowski 6-2, 7-5 in the singles final.
Deerfield: Lake Forest’s Margaret Purcell upended Deerfield’s Chelsea Kammerer 6-0, 6-0 for the singles title and ran her unbeaten streak to 48 straight games, but Deerfield scored 22 points to Lake Forest’s 18 for the team championship. Woodlands’ Kathleen Copiozo and Abby Smith beat Lake Forest’s Diana Tarant and Kelley Krant in doubles.
Schaumburg: Lake Park’s Gena Soeldner (13-12) needed three sets to defeat teammate Jill Rubach (22-8) but triumphed 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. chaumburg advanced both of its doubles teams to the final–Andrea McDaniel and Alpa Patel defeated Lyndsay Smith and Lili Alcala 6-3, 6-3. Lake Park topped the host Saxons 25-20 for first place.