Huskies win in photo finish

There may never have been a conference girls tennis race and postseason tournament as closely contested as this year's DuPage Valley Conference.

Going into Saturday's final two rounds, any one of four teams had a good chance to win, but it was Naperville North that came away with its second DVC title in three years, with a mere 2.5 points separating the big four.

"We've never had anything quite like it," said Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing. "This is the first time I've seen four schools this close. In fact it was five schools because Naperville Central wasn't very far behind."

With points accumulating on match wins throughout the season and tournament, the Huskies finished with 47 points, just ahead of Wheaton North, which scored 45.5, Wheaton Warrenville South, 45 and West Aurora 44.5. Naperville Central, which spent Saturday winning key matches and spoiling it for others, ended with 38.

In taking the title the Huskies were paced by Stacey Hitchcock and Surbhi Agarwal who won the finals at third and fourth singles.

"This conference and conference tournament proved what a team sport tennis can be," said Huskies coach Heather Henricksen. "This year, more than any other, every match mattered, every position mattered. Stacey and Surbhi showed that third- and fourth-singles wins count every bit as much as first- and second-singles wins."

Even though they won just two of the seven finals matches, the Huskies established their advantage early taking all seven quarterfinal contests Friday.

"Last year we weren't quite there, we finished fourth," Henricksen said. "We had a lot of people returning and we were competitive at every position all season. I'm so proud of our entire team."

The Huskies' depth showed itself with important third-place match victories by Katerina Bizios at first singles and Savita Joglekar and Shreya Kanabar at first doubles.

"It feels good to win the DVC in my senior year," Bizios said. "We were kind of underdogs. I don't think anyone considered us for conference champs."

When the team results were announced the Wheaton Warrenville South players reacted with a shout of joy at finishing third.

"We finished a half-point ahead of West Aurora," Clousing said. "They beat us by a half-point for the conference championship last year. We were just happy to turn the tables."

The Tigers won individual titles at first doubles behind Stephanie Jenks and Melanie Milling and at second doubles where Erica Fenn and Jaimi Inskeep won their final match.

Before the season many of the coaches saw the DVC as a battle between the Blackhawks and the Tigers, with the Huskies, the Falcons and the Redhawks in a group fighting for third.

While Naperville North's win was a mild upset, the team that really muddied the championship water was Wheaton North, which finished in the top four the past two years but never as high as this year's second place, which they accomplished without one individual championship.

"It was a wonderful season for us," said Wheaton North coach Rick Rateike. "We were in three finals matches. In the past we haven't been able to match the strong teams at the top end of the lineup, but right now we're in that category."

"Rick has done a great job at Wheaton North teaching the girls how to be patient, smart and mature players." Henricksen said. "They're such good, steady players, and they drive you crazy, because they keep the ball in."

West Aurora's Shannon Brooks and Brooke Henry won the first- and second- singles competition, while Naperville Central's Jeri McCombs and Michelle Fern were the third-doubles winners.

"Our girls had a great tournament," said Naperville Central coach Don Bonet. "We were getting better as the season went on and we peaked this weekend."