Who says championships are built on rapport?
It certainly wasn’t T.F. South’s Precious Powe and Kristi Fisher. The pair hadn’t played doubles with one another all season until Thursday’s T.F. South Sectional.
“We actually played two matches with each other last year,” Powe said. “We didn’t do too well.”
But last season, when T.F. South won its second straight state title, is history.
All Powe and Fisher did was run through the doubles bracket en route to the sectional championship. The pair outscored their first two opponents 84-41 before topping fellow Rebels Alex Ramirez and Fritzi Flores (47-10) with a 21-17, 21-19 decision.
“Maybe (coach Bob Tengstrand) should have kept us together last year,” Powe joked.
Fisher claimed the transition was a bit easier than one might think.
“Being singles players helped us out a lot, because I know if she’s going up, I’m moving back,” said Fisher, noting the duo discovered they’d be competing together less than a week ago. “We knew each other’s groove even though we hadn’t really played much.”
The duo is headed to state, where they should receive a favorable seed despite their limited record of 3-0. The top four placers in both doubles and singles at the T.F. South Sectional move on to state, which takes place next weekend at Eastern Illinois.
“Placing in state is definitely a goal,” Fisher said.
“We want a high place, though,” Powe chimed in.
One player who knows all about lofty podium finishes is Jenna Pasko, T.F. South’s No. 1 singles player. The senior won the state doubles crown last year with graduated partner Cassie Breshock. She also placed second in state doubles as a sophomore and third as a freshman.
In her first go-around at singles, Pasko (38-2) took out her first two foes by a whopping margin (84-31) before topping teammate Bri Walker 21-15, 21-15 in the finals.
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“It’s fun, not that competitive, to play a teammate in the finals,” Pasko said. “But it’s really different playing singles. Going from doubles to singles is hard because you’re covering the whole court by yourself.
“I don’t really know where I stand going down state for singles. I’ve already won in doubles, so it’s a little less pressure going down this time around.”
Tengstrand called Pasko one of the best athletes he’s ever coached. It showed. Pasko will play volleyball at Purdue Calumet and was recently voted T.F. South’s female athlete of the year.
The Rebels took the team championship with 18 points, the tournament maximum. Stagg finished second with 6.5 points. Joliet West (4.5) placed third, Lincoln-Way East (3.5) fourth and Joliet Central (1.5) fifth.
Other state qualifiers included Stagg’s Katie Dwyer, who beat Lincoln-Way East’s Stephanie Zuccato, for third.
Stagg’s doubles of Serena George and Dovile Guzauskaite, and Julia Hernandez and Danielle Klimas also advanced.
Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.