Undefeated conference season leaves Highland girls well positioned for tennis sectional

A strong showing at the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament at Triad and Civic Memorial High Schools last weekend has given the Highland girls tennis some positive momentum as they prepare for the Class 1A sectional tournament later this week.

The Bulldogs, who went undefeated in conference dual matches during the fall, continued their strong conference play with a second-place finish in the tournament.

“I felt pretty good going in because we had won all of our regular season conference matches and we had gone undefeated, so I was feeling pretty good,” Plocher said. We started a little rough in doubles on day one and that kind of where we had taken care of business all year, but we had some people play well.”

In the singles flights Saturday at Triad, Highland fared well as Sophia Fleming took second in the No. 1 single, Ruthie Manor placed second in the No. 2 singles, Josie Wojcikiewicz placed third in No. 3 singles and Maya Pollard won the No. 4 singles flight in a two-set tiebreaker over a Jerseyville opponent, 6-3, 7-6.

“All year round, those girls have battled against some really tough opponents in Triad, Jersey, and Sophia ended up playing a Jerseyville girl which she beat twice and the Jerseyville girl played really well that day,” Plocher said. “Maya Pollard came up big in a couple of big tiebreakers throughout the year to get herself a good spot to win and she pulled it out. Josie battled as well, going 2-5 down against the Triad girl for third place and Ruthie was also in a battle as well at two singles against a really good girl from Jerseyville.”

On Friday, in the doubles matches at Civic Memorial, the Bulldogs got a solid showing in all three flights. Fleming and Wojcikiewiecz finished second in the No. 1 doubles flight behind Jerseyville.

“They ended up going three sets, so it was a good battle and a long three sets,” Plocher said. “Abby Chalfant and Pollard teamed at No. 2 doubles and finished in fourth place.

Highland’s No. 3 doubles pairing of Manor and Peyton Beard won their flight with a first-place finish.

“Getting a win at three doubles was good because at the time it was much needed,” Plocher said. “So, it was a good time for us to pull it out.”

Plocher felt that the strong conference tournament performance was a good way for the Bulldogs to prepare for the Class 1A Sectional Tournament, which will begin on Friday at Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville.

“The conference tournament the weekend right before (sectional) is just really good competition and it seems like each year the MVC has some of the best players in the area that are for 1A and there’s going to be state qualifiers as well,” Plocher said. “So, it’s just another opportunity to play good opponents to help build your resume as well going into the last week.”

Plocher believes Highland can get some qualifiers through to the Class 1A Tournament in Buffalo Grove on Oct. 19 but they will have to have strong starts to make that happen.

“I think the biggest thing is everyone’s got to win their first round and I think everyone has a doable opportunity,” Plocher said. “We have doubles teams and a singles player that should be seeded based off of the work they’ve done in the regular season.

“The key to beating those teams is everyone’s got to win their first-round and when we have the big matchups against teams like Triad and Father McGivney, we’ve got to make sure the match comes out in our favor.”