Girls tennis: Only Hinsdale Central stands in Neuqua Valley's way

Saturday's Downers Grove South Invitational featured 16 girls tennis teams and started out in four locations.

At the end of the day, two teams found themselves in the championship match, and one of them was Neuqua Valley.

The Wildcats fell to defending state champ Hinsdale Central 3-2, but their performance throughout the competition was a further example of the strong start to the season the team has had. It has just two losses, both to Hinsdale Central. Neuqua is undefeated in the DuPage Valley Conference.

"I'm very proud of them. They worked hard in the off-season and during the season," said Neuqua coach Trudy Bennorth.

The Wildcats started Saturday with a 5-0 win over Geneva, followed by a 3-2 victory over York. Neuqua reached the championship with a 4-1 win over Barrington in the semifinals. Like the other teams the Wildcats made lineup adjustments with the equivalent of a team taking part in four dual meets being played in one day.

"We're a young team and really proud of what we have done. We hope to keep it up and I'm sure we will," said Hannah Newman, who won her match at No. 1 singles against the Red Devils 7-5, 6-4.

Newman said that much tennis requires some adjustments in order to remain successful.

"You definitely make changes to your game. My first opponent hit everything in and I had to hit everything in. In my last match I was able to be more aggressive and shorten the points," she said.

Neuqua's second win against Hinsdale Central came at No. 2 doubles as Hannah Kestenberg and Yurui Sun won 6-2, 4-6, 10-4.

"We're lucky enough to be deep. Your footwork, agility and cardio is tested. Four matches is a lot," Bennorth said.