Huntley freshman enjoys solid tennis season
HUNTLEY – Huntley ninth grader Ella Doughty earned the top spot in pre-season and began her first post-season well as she earned a trip to the IHSA Class 2A State Meet.
Doughty finished fourth at the Rockford Auburn sectional and joined doubles teams Emily Chong and Elaina Hibbeler and Kate Burkey and Delaney Stock at the state meet. HHS, FVC regular season and tournament champs, finished third in the team standings at Auburn.
“Doughty had the skills as a freshman but coming in she had to learn how to handle the pressure of No. 1 singles and be mentally tough on the court,” Wells said.
Doughty lost both matches at the state tournament, but won 24 matches this season.
“I saw Doughty at our summer camp over the last two summers and she has done a lot of work at USTA tournaments over the summer. She played Hibbeler, a returning state singles qualifier, in a challenge match and won. It was a close decision but putting Doughty at singles gave us better depth.”
Doughty is no stranger to the tennis court.
“I’ve been playing tennis since first grade and competitively the last couple of seasons,” she said. “I definitely put in a lot of work on my serves and ground strokes.”
Weather conditions were a challenge for all the last two Saturdays, at the Fox Valley Conference meet and sectional. Doughty had to beat a Hononegah singles player in the quarterfinals and did with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at sectional. She then lost a third place match.
“I felt very relieved. I put a lot of pressure on myself,” Doughty said.
“Doughty had a tougher than expected match against the Hononegah player It was a very cold and windy conditions plus the pressure of competing for state,” Wells said. “Doughty prevailed in the end and we are very proud of her for qualifying for state as a freshman.”
Doughty praised the help her teammates provided.
“Chong and Hibbeler helped me to know what to expect over the season,” Doughty said. “I would stress out at matches but they would help me figure it out.”
Sectional-state recap
Doughty was 0-2 at the IHSA Class 2A state tournament to finish her season. So was Chong and Stock at doubles. Chong and Stock placed second at sectional doubles to earn their spot at state.
The Huntley highlight at state was a win in the consolation round by Hibbeler and Burkey. They had finished fourth at sectional.
“Their skill levels all improved,” Wells commented. “The doubles teams were new pairings this year so they had to work together and build chemistry on the court. At sectional Hibbeler and Burkey both played very well and finished second. Second doubles Cong and Stock had a great win over Belvidere North to qualify.”
Wells summed up the state tournament as the season had come to a close.
“Several of our girls weren’t feeling 100 percent, it was cold playing conditions so the timing of state wasn’t ideal for us,” Wells said. “We didn’t play poorly in any of the tiebreakers. The other teams came up with great shots. We didn’t beat ourselves and the girls gave everything they had and that is all you can ask for. State is really tough competition. It would have been nice to come away with a few more wins. We are very proud of our girls and with all that experience they will be back stronger and better next year.”
