2008 West High Girls Tennis Varsity Calendar & Results

Aug. 26 (Tue.) - vs. Metamora (Home) -- L 4-5
Aug. 29-30 (Fri.-Sat.) - @ Springfield Tournament -- 4th (of 14 teams)
Sept. 4 (Thu.) - vs. U-High (Home) -- rained out
Sept. 10 (Wed.) - vs. Normal Community (Home) -- L 4-5
Sept. 13 (Sat.) - @ Bloomington Invitational #1 -- rained out
Sept. 16 (Tue.) - @ Urbana -- W 7-2
Sept. 19-20 (Fri.-Sat.) - @ Bloomington Invitational #2 -- 9th (of 15 teams)
Sept. 22 (Mon.) - vs. Morton (Home) -- Tie 3-3
Sept. 23 (Tue.) - vs. U-High rescheduled (Home) -- L 3-6
Sept. 24 (Wed.) - vs. Champaign Central (Home) -- W 9-0
Sept. 26-27 (Fri.-Sat.) - @ Edwardsville Tournament -- 10th (of 16 teams)
Sept. 29 (Mon.) - vs. Decatur Eisenhower (Home) -- W 9-0
Oct. 1 (Wed.) - vs. Central Catholic @ Bloomington HS -- L 3-6
Oct. 3-4 (Fri.-Sat.) - @ Bloomington Invitational #3 -- 12th (of 16 teams)
Oct. 7 (Tue.) - vs. Bloomington (Home) -- rained out
Oct. 9 (Thu.) - vs. Pekin (Home) -- L 1-8
Oct. 10-11 (Fri.-Sat.) - Big 12 Conference Tournament @ Bloomington HS -- 5th (of 10 teams)
Oct. 17-18 (Fri.-Sat.) - Sectionals @ Bloomington HS -- 5th (of 9 teams) - State Qualifier: Sarah Bonnett
Oct. 23-25 (Thu.-Sat.) - State Tournament @ Mt. Prospect

2008 West High Girls Tennis JV Calendar & Results

Sept. 3 (Wed.) - vs. Pekin (Home) -- W 6-3
Sept. 4 (Thu.) - @ Morton -- rained out
Sept. 10 (Wed.) - @ Normal Community -- L 1-8
Sept. 11 (Thu.) - @ U-High -- rained out
Sept. 16 (Tue.) - @ Urbana -- W 6-1
Sept. 17 (Wed.) - @ Bloomington -- L 3-6
Sept. 22 (Mon.) - vs. Metamora @ Maxwell Park -- W 5-4
Sept. 25 (Thu.) - vs. Normal Community (Home) -- L 0-9
Sept. 29 (Mon.) - @ Pekin -- W 5-4
Sept. 30 (Tue.) - vs. U-High (Home) -- W 5-2
Oct. 2 (Thu.) - @ Metamora -- L 2-7
Oct. 7 (Tue.) - vs. Central Catholic @ Bloomington HS -- rained out
Oct. 9 (Thu.) - Metamora -- W 6-3

Sept. 26-27: Varsity Places 10th at Southern IL Duals

Over the weekend the West Varsity Girls Tennis team traveled to Southern Illinois for a Dual Meet Invitational hosted by Belleville East and Edwardsville high schools. The team won 2 of 4 meets to place 10th overall in the 16-team field.

Their first meet on Friday was against Quincy, which they narrowly lost 2-3. Scoring points for West were the Doubles teams of Brittany Funk-Lindsey Sebade and Sarah Bonnett-Amanda Kirchner.

The second meet on Friday evening was against Belleville East's 2nd Squad. West won 5-0, with Funk-Sebade, Bonnett-Kirchner, and Sam Reitz-Christe Gannon winning at Doubles, and Renae Grilliot and Emily Howell coming out on top in their Singles matches.

On Saturday morning the girls faced O'Fallon Township High School. Lindsey Sebade injured her foot before the match and was barely able to walk, but with no substitutes available, she went ahead and played doubles. She turned in a courageous performance, with her and Brittany Funk winning a close match in straight sets at #1 Doubles. Bonnett-Kircher also pulled out a great comeback at #2 Doubles. After losing the first set and down 5-6 in the second, they won to tie the set at 6-6, then won the set in a tiebreaker, and clinched the match in a 10-point tiebreaker. In Singles, Bonnett, Grilliot, Funk, and Howell all won their matches for a 6-3 meet victory. Emily Howell won in impressive comeback fashion: after losing the first set 4-6, she won a close second set and then dominated in the 10-point tiebreaker.

The fourth and final match of the weekend was against Springfield Sacred-Heart Griffin. Like the meets on Friday, this was played with a 2 Singles / 3 Doubles match format. Despite another close and gritty performance by Funk-Sebade in Doubles, SHG won the meet 4-1, with Bonnett-Kircher (who went 4-0 in Doubles over the weekend) scoring West's sole point.

All in all a very solid team result, especially considering inuries and a short-handed roster. There were clutch performances all around. Nice job, 'Cats!!

Sept. 25: West JV Fall to NCHS

Thursday the West JV Girls Tennis squad hosted Normal Community High School, and were defeated 0-9. The lone West victory was posted by Kirsten Thompson in her exhibition match.

Although this was the second straight JV defeat to NCHS this season, the girls fought hard and many of the matches were closer than in the previous meet. So, despite the score, the JV Team is showing improvement!

Sept. 24: West Varsity Blanks Champaign Central

Wednesday the Girls Varsity Tennis team hosted Champaign Central, and won all matches for a 9-0 victory. Singles winners were Sarah Bonnett, Amanda Kirchner, Renae Grilliot, Brittany Funk, Lindsey Sebade, and Emily Howell. Also victorious were the Doubles teams of Funk-Sebade, Bonnett- Kirchner, and Grilliot-Howell.

Way to go, 'Cats!

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/09/25/scholastic/doc48db23ee37c7c977563246.txt

Sept. 23: West Varsity Defeated by U-High

Tuesday the Normal West Girls Varsity Tennis team hosted U-High in a dual meet. U-High won the meet 6-3. Scoring points for West were Brittany Funk and Lindsey Sebade in Singles, and the Doubles team of Sarah Bonnett and Amanda Kirchner.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/09/25/scholastic/doc48db23ee37c7c977563246.txt

Sept. 22: U-High Match Rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23

The Home meet vs. U-High, originally scheduled for Sept. 4 but rained out, has been rescheduled for tomorrow night.

Sept. 22: JV Victorious over Metamora

On Monday the JV Girls Tennis Team hosted Metamore in a meet at Maxwell Park, and came away with a 5-4 win.

Singles winners were Sam Reitz, Sophie Evans, Kelsey Pyne, and Jordan Williams, and well as Jennifer Walker in her exhibition match. The Doubles team of Evans-Christie Gannon also pulled out a win to seal the meet victory.

Great job, Ladies!

Sept. 22: West 3, Morton 3

On Monday the Girls Varsity Tennis Team hosted Morton in a dual meet. After the Singles competition the score was tied 3-3. All of the Doubles matches were halted before completion due to darkness. A date for completing the match is planned, but has not been set.

Singles winners for West were Sarah Bonnett, Amanda Kirchner, and Lindsey Sebade. Honorable Mention also goes to Brittany Funk, who rallied from one set and 5-1 down to win 6 straight games and force a third set -- she eventually lost in a very close contest.

Nice effort, 'Cats!

Sept. 19-20: Varsity Places 9th at Bloomington Gold Tournament

The West High Girls Varsity Tennis Team placed 9th out of 15 teams in a rain-abbreviated Bloomington Gold tournament over the weekend.

Friday night the doubles team of Sarah Bonnett and Amanda Kirchner won 3 matches to place 5th at #2 Doubles, and Renae Grilliot and Emily Howell won 2 matches to get 6th place at #3 Doubles. At #1 Doubles, the team of Brittany Funk and Emily Sebade won one match.

On Saturday, the girls were only able to complete at most 2 singles matches before rain halted play for the day. Lindsey Sebade won both her matches (including one against the #1 seed) to qualify for the semifinals at #5 Singles. Sara Bonnett, Amanda Kirchner, and Brittany Funk won one singles match apiece.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/09/21/scholastic/doc48d5b38b2b36c389202290.txt

Sept. 17: JV Defeated at Bloomington

The Junior Varsity Girls Tennis team was at Bloomington High School Wednesday, and lost a close one to BHS, 3-6. Sam Reitz, Christie Gannon, and Kelsey Pyne won their singles matches. However, there were several other singles matches and a doubles match that went to tiebreakers or were extremely close. All the girls put forth a solid effort. Nice job, 'Cats!

Sept. 16: Varsity and JV Both Post Wins at Urbana

On Tuesday the Normal West Varsity and Junior Varsity Girls Tennis squads traveled to Urbana for a dual meet, and both came away with impressive victories.

In the Varsity meet, Normal West defeated Urbana, 7-2. Amanda Kirchner, Renae Grilliot, Brittany Funk, Lindsey Sebade, and Emily Howell all won their singles matches. The doubles teams of Kirchner-Sarah Bonnett and Grilliot-Howell also posted wins in doubles.

On the JV side, West won 6-1. Haley Hoesley, Sam Reitz, Christie Gannon, and Kelsey Pyne swept the four singles matches. Also winning at doubles were Hoesly-Reitz, and Pyne-Jordan Williams.

Great performance, 'Cats! We Lu-u-u-h-h-h you!!

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/09/17/scholastic/doc48d094dc8d048730468437.txt

Sept. 10: JV Falls to NCHS

The Girls Junior Varsity Team traveled cross-town to play Normal Community's JV squad on Wednesday, and were defeated 1-8. The lone point for the Wildcats was earned by Jennifer Walker in her singles match.

Sept. 10: Varsity Loses Heartbreaker to Normal Community

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.)

Sept. 3: JV Wins Season Opener vs. Pekin

The Junior Varsity Girls Tennis Team hosted Pekin for their first meet of the year Wednesday, and came away with a 6-3 victory.

Winning singles matches were Christie Gannon, Sophie Evans, Kelsey Pyne, and Jordan Williams. The doubles teams of Gannon-Evans and Pyne-Williams also posted wins. In addition, Kirsten Thompson and Jennifer Walker were victorious in their exhibition singles matches, and also teamed together to win their exhibition doubles match.

Great job, ladies -- way to start the season!

Aug. 29-30: West Finishes 4th at Springfield Tournament

The West High Girls Tennis Team posted their strongest finish in several years at the Springfield Tournament over the weekend, placing 4th out of 14 teams with 37 points.

In the doubles competition Friday night, Sarah Bonnett and Amanda Kirchner achieved a 3rd place finish at #2 Doubles, while Brittany Funk and Lindsey Sebade placed 6th at #1 Doubles. At #3 Doubles, Renae Grilliot and Emily Howell won one match (and were leading in another) before their tournament was called due to darkness (malfunctioning lights at their site).

Saturday, those scoring points during the Singles competition were Brittany Funk (2nd at #4 Singles), Sarah Bonnett and Lindsey Sebade (3rd at #1 and #4 Singles, respectively), Renae Grilliot (4th at #3 Singles), and Amanda Kirchner (6th at #2 Singles).

Great Tournament, 'Cats!

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/08/31/scholastic/doc48ba298633305894802251.txt