SKOKIE — Taft’s win in Saturday’s girls tennis quad at Niles West was a surprise. And that’s even according to the Eagles’ coach.
“It was totally and completely unexpected,” William McDade said. “But it was great.”
Taft finished third in last year’s quad, but won each of its three matchups this year. For the quad, duals consisted of three singles matches and two doubles matches.
Against Niles North, Taft won 3-2, winning all three singles matches. Versus Niles West, Taft took the third singles matchup and the doubles points. Last, facing Lane, Taft won all five matchups.
“They really came out to play today, so I feel great,” McDade said. “For having to get up early on a Saturday, this was well worth it.”
Freshman Ivana Jerinc had Taft’s best outing, winning all three of her No. 3 singles matches (6-2, 6-1; 6-0, 6-1; and 6-0, 6-0). Senior Kaitlin Ulbert had a strong day as well, going 2-1 at No. 1 singles (she won 6-1, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-0).
Ulbert’s only loss came against Niles West’s Eliza Kirov, a freshman. Kirov was a force on the court: She won all three of her No. 1 singles matches. She topped Ulbert in two games, 6-3, 6-3. She beat Lane senior Alison Wall 6-0, 6-0 and bested Niles North freshman Sabrina Palavra 6-2, 6-3.
Niles West went 2-1 in the quad, beating Lane 3-2 and Niles North 3-2. Niles North went 1-2, only beating Lane 4-1. A highlight for the Vikings though was the senior duo of Irene Cho and Emily Moy. They won all three of their doubles matches (6-1, 6-1; 6-3, 6-2; and 6-4, 6-3). Cho and Moy played Nos. 1 and 2 doubles for the Vikings.
