In a home meet that couldn't seemingly have been any closer, with 5 of the 9 matches decided in super (10-point) tiebreakers, the Normal West Varsity Girls lost 5-4 to Normal Community on Wednesday.
In singles, Amanda Kircher (who pulled out a super tiebreaker 12-10), Renae Grilliot, Brittany Funk, and Lindsey Sebade all won their matches. Sarah Bonnett narrowly missed a win at #1 singles, after losing a tiebreaker for the first set, storming back to take the second set, and then falling 10-8 in a tense super tiebreaker.
In doubles, the three teams of Funk-Sebade, Bonnett-Kirchner, and Grilliot-Emily Howell all won their first sets. However, Normal Community won the second set 6-4 in each case, and all 3 matches headed to super tiebreakers. Normal Community managed to pull out all 3 super tiebreakers to win the meet by one point.
Despite the disappointing finish, it was a fierce battle against the team that was the pre-season favorite to win the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats showed they are in the mix for the Conference title, and a force to be reckoned with. Great effort, 'Cats!
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/09/11/scholastic/doc48c8a65914381720924483.txt
(Note error in Pantagraph article: Renae Grilliot def. Jessica Steach by the score indicated.)
