Doubles duo qualifies for state tennis

HUNTLEY — The other courts at the indoor The Racket Club were clear when Huntley’s girls tennis doubles tandem of Kate Burkey and Carlie Weishaar battled two Lake Zurich twin sisters in a doubles final.

Juniors Burkey and Weishaar recorded three wins by 6-0, 6-0 sweeps. They reached their goal as they advanced to the Oct. 19-21 Class 2A IHSA Girls State Tournament as runner-ups at the Cary-Grove Sectional Oct. 14.

Burkey and Weishaar posted a 3-1 record at the sectional. Victories were gained over Alex Cermak and Maggie Evans of McHenry in round one; Rachel Reed and Ameilia Pollock of Jacobs in the second round and in the sectional semis, Barrington’s Isra Khan and Stephanie Yoon.

“They played amazing this morning,” HHS coach Barry Wells said of the semifinal round. “That momentum continued into the first set of the championship match.”

But the Lake Zurich duo of Tessa and Summer Fabsik won the two-hour plus battle, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 over the Red Raiders. The Red Raiders pair closed a 4-1 games deficit to 4-3 in the third set finale.

“We scored eight points in the games we lost but we just could not finish it,” Wells said.

Wells was pleased with the Red Raiders’ showing, which gained them a tie for third place in team standings with 18 points, tied with Fremd. Barrington won with 24 points and Lake Zurich had 20.

“They all played great. I was proud of their efforts,” Wells said.

In singles, Ella Doughty beat Anna Kramskalz of Lake Zurich, 6-0, 6-0 but lost to Courtney Croll of Barrington, 6-3, 6-2.

“Doughty had a good win against Lake Zurich and faced a friend of hers from lessons and played a fantastic, competitive match,” Wells said.

Gia Patel started with a win over Diya Prem of Palatine Fremd, 6-4, 6-4 but lost to Lake Zurich’s Katrina Boianov, 6-0, 6-0.

“The match against Fremd was against a similar opponent,” Wells said. They had a lot of long rallies over 30 points.”

The Huntley doubles tandem of Ari Patel and Julie Klockner won over McHenry’s Alyna Villarreal and Kaitlyn Miller, 6-0, 6-0, but then lost to Kylie Cohn and Sara Casey of Jacobs, 6-3, 6-1.

Burkey and Weishaar’s advancement to the Oct. 19-21 state meet, hosted by Buffalo Grove, continues Huntley’s qualifying players among the best.