Halle Roach leaves spirited mark on Libertyville

LIBERTYVILLE — Before the 2014 girls tennis season started, Halle Roach had an idea.

Coach Dan Kiernan named Roach captain along with senior Ola Grabowski. Roach embraced her role and wanted to put her stamp on the program.

“Being captain gives you more responsibility,” Roach said. “You have to be more of a role model to the team.”

Roach and Grabowski went to an arts and crafts store in Vernon Hills, where they bought a paddle. A foot and a half long, it looks like an item a visitor would see hanging on the wall in a college sorority or fraternity house.

They painted it black and orange — Libertyville’s colors — and brought it to the first day of practice and to team tournaments throughout the season. It’s “a spirit stick,” Roach said.

“We wrote everyone’s names and graduation years on the back,” Roach said. “We wanted to start a cool tradition, something more fun.”

For four years, fans of Libertyville tennis had fun watching Roach. This season’s state tournament served as a final farewell. On Thursday’s first day, Roach lost her opening match in the front draw to Glenbard West’s Caroline Maltby, 7-5, 6-3. In the back draw, Roach won her first match before dropping a tough three-setter, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to Julie Martin of Morton.

“The last one was a heartbreaker,” Roach said. “Singles this year is so competitive. I left it all out there on the court. That’s all I can ask for.”

Almost exclusively a varsity singles player all four years, Roach quickly established herself at Libertyville and on the state scene. She qualified for the state tournament as a sophomore in 2012, winning one match in the front draw.

Being the top singles player for a team in the North Suburban Lake is a demanding task. It requires an all-court game and a hard-to-break mental fortitude. Roach possessed both, Kiernan said.

“To be a No. 1 on our team is not easy,” Kiernan said. “We play the best teams. You are going to have a lot of losses, so you have to be tough. She did a great job. It was nice to see her grow up this season.”

Roach was joined at the state tournament by Libertyville’s top doubles team of sophomores Callie Klein and Danielle Blaser. The pair finished 4-2, winning two matches in both the front and back draws. They earned six of the Wildcats’ seven team points, good for 33rd place.

Her high school career is over, but there’s plenty of tennis in Roach’s future. She will play at Valparaiso in 2015. Her racquets will go with her to college, but the spirit stick won’t.

“I’m excited to be moving on from high school to competitive college tennis,” Roach said. “But there is a team spirit at Libertyville and [my teammates] got really close as friends. [The spirit stick] has been fantastic and brought the team together. When we graduate, we will start a tradition and pass it down.”