Nazareth dup place in top 12 at state girls tennis finals

By Steve Millar 
Correspondent

Makenzie Hyland advanced to the fourth round in the consolation bracket at the girls state tennis finals last season with doubles partner McCahey Hardy.

This year, the Nazareth senior found herself back in the same round with new partner, junior Audrey Moster. She was determined to go beyond.

“It’s my senior year and I really wanted to just keep going as long as we could,” Hyland said. “Me and Audrey had confidence in each other.

“After getting that win, I was very excited to be going further.”

Hyland and Moster ground out a tough 7-5, 7-5 win over Wheaton Academy’s Audrey Litfin and Jillian Paulson in the Class 1A doubles consolation fourth round. They added another victory, edging Alleman’s Anne Rouse and Kate Rector in a match that came down to a super tiebreaker after the first two sets were split. Hyland and Moster won 7-6, 1-6, 10-6.

The pair bowed out in the consolation quarterfinals, coming up on the short end of another marathon match, as Latin’s Mia Bianco and Mia Lapiere earned a 4-6, 6-1, 12-10 win.

Overall, Hyland and Moster went 4-2 at state and placed in the top 12.

“We have a competitive spirit,” Hyland said. “We want to win.”

Moster said the duo quickly developed good teamwork in their first season as partners.

“I think our chemistry really helps,” Moster said. “We’re good at talking and we’re good at moving on the court. We just have confidence in each other.”

Nazareth junior Layden Almer went 2-2 in singles, reaching the consolation third round.

The Roadrunners tied for 14^th in the team standings.

Sandburg senior Josie Canellis, meanwhile, was thrilled after going 3-2 in Class 2A singles, falling in the consolation fourth round.

“It was such an amazing experience,” Canellis said. “It was a ton of fun with my team and to be able to get the wins that I got and that the team got, it was a great way to finish the season and finish my last year of high school tennis.”

Canellis made it to the second day of the state meet for the first time when she upset Fremd’s Alina Shyani, 5-7, 6-1, 10-8, in the consolation third round.

“I was super, super nervous the whole entire time,” Canellis said. “The girl I was playing was a very highly ranked player and she was really good. I feel like throughout my whole season I got a lot of good practice against good competition, so I felt like I was prepared in that aspect of it, but it was super tough to handle my nerves because I knew if I lost that match, it would be my last one and I would be headed home.

“What helped me win the match was the support from my teammates and my coaches the whole time, and then just handling my nerves. I was super excited and super relieved to be able to continue to the next day.”

Canellis will now look forward to basketball season, but she will look back fondly on her tennis career.

“Sandburg tennis meant a lot to me,” she said. “Some of my best high school memories are from the tennis seasons. I had a lot of fun my freshman season and since tennis season is in the fall, it was kind of like my first experience of high school and I feel like it put everything in such a positive perspective and really kicked off my high school experience so well.

“Now, this year, my team was absolutely amazing and I had such a blast.”

Sandburg’s two doubles team each won matches at state, with Neela Browne and Tamryn Leonard going 2-2 and Alexa Petcu and Samantha Pagnucci finishing 1-2.

The Eagles finished 15^th as a team.

Richards’ Meghan McSweeney was the only other area player to win a match at state, going 1-2 in Class 2A singles.