Oct. 23: Bonnett Battles at State

Sarah Bonnett competed in the State Tennis Tournament in Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 23. She lost her first match to one of the top tournament seeds. In her second match, after losing the first set, she came back to dominate the second set, 6-1. However, she was defeated in the third set, ending her season.

Nevertheless, congratulations to Sarah for being the first girl in two years to represent West at State, and to the whole team for a solid year of accomplishment and improvement! With a multitude of returning seniors, and up and coming underclassmen, we look forward to a solid 2009 season!

http://www.ihsa.org/activity/tng/2008-09/1result1.htm

Oct. 17-18: West Places 5th at Sectionals, Bonnett to State!

Over the weekend the Normal West Varsity Girls Tennis Team placed 5th in the Bloomington Sectional Tournament.

The team of Brittany Funk-Lindsey Sebade won one doubles match. In Singles, Renae Grilliot won her first match, and then lost a close match to the #2 seeded player.

The star for West, though, was Sarah Bonnett, who won her first match, and then upset the #4 seeded player in a tough 3-set battle to advance to the State Tournament this week. Way to go, Sarah!!

http://go.ihsa.org/reports/tng56741.htm

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/19/scholastic/doc48fa9eab748a3540072772.txt

Oct. 9: JV Finishes with Win over Metamore

JV Girls Tennis Team ended their season with a victory over Metamora last Thursday, 6-3. Singles winners were Sophie Evans, Kelsey Pyne, Jordan Williams, and Jennifer Walker. Winning Doubles teams were Sam Reitz-Pyne, and Christie Gannon-Evans.

Way to go, Ladies!

Oct. 10-11: West Places 5th in Big 12 Conference

Over the weekend, the Normal West Girls Varsity Team placed 5th in the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Top finishers for West in Doubles on Friday night were Brittany Funk and Lindsey Sebade, who got 3rd at #2 Doubles; and Amanda Kirchner and Emily Howell, who placed 4th at #3 Doubles. In their final matches, both teams played very close 3-set matches that went well over 2 hours. The #1 Doubles team of Sarah Bonnett and Renae Grilliot placed 7th.

In Singles on Saturday, West's top finisher was Brittany Funk, who got 1st place at #4 Singles, winning a hard-fought championship match, 7-6, 6-4. Congratulations, Brittany! Amanda Kircher also medaled, placing 4th in #3 Singles. Sarah Bonnett and Renae Grilliot each got 5th place at #1 and #2 Singles, respectively. Emily Howell and Haley Hoesley also scored points for West at #5 and #6 Singles.

Nice effort, 'Cats!

Oct. 9: Pekin Defeats Varsity

Thursday the Normal West Varsity Girls team played their final home dual meet vs. Pekin. (The conclusion of the doubles matches were played at U-High due to darkness. Many thanks to U-High for the use of their courts!) Despite several close matches, Pekin won 8-1. The lone West High point was scored by Brittany Funk in singles.

Oct. 2: JV Falls at Metamore

The Girls Junior Varsity Team traveled to Metamore on Oct. 2, and were defeated 2-7 in the dual meet. Singles winners for West were Haley Hoesly and Sophie Evans. Kelsey Pyne also played a very close match, but lost in a tiebreaker.

Oct. 3-4: Varsity Places 12th in Bloomington Tournament

In the final Bloomington Invitation Tournament this year, the West High Varsity placed 12th of 16 teams. Winning Doubles matches on Friday night were Sara Bonnett and Renae Grilliot, and also Amanda Kirchner and Emily Howell. On Saturday, Emily Howell also made a nice comeback in her singles victory. However, the real bright spot for the Wildcats over the weekend was Brittany Funk, who went 3-1 to place 3rd at #4 Singles. She was only one of two in-town entries to place that high in the tournament.

Great job, Brittany!

Oct. 1: Varsity Falls Short vs. Central Catholic

On Wednesday the Varsity Girls Tennis team traveled to Bloomington High School for an away meet against Bloomington Central Catholic. Despite several close matches and comeback attempts, Central Catholic came away with a 6-3 victory. Posting wins for West were Renae Grilliot and Amanda Kirchner in Singles, and Kirchner-Emily Howell in Doubles.

Sept. 30: JV Beats U-High

Tuesday the JV Girls Tennis team hosted U-High in a dual meet. West posted a 5-2 victory (some matches were not completed because the U-High team had to leave early for another school commitment). Winning at Singles were Sam Reitz, Christie Gannon, and Sophie Evans. Doubles winners were Reitz-Haley Hoesly, and Gannon-Evans.

Way to go, 'Cats!

Sept. 29: Varsity Wins Over Eisenhower

Monday the Varsity Girls Tennis team hosted Decatur Eisenhower and came away with a 9-0 meet victory. Sarah Bonnett, Amanda Kirchner, Renae Grilliot, Brittany Funk, Emily Howell, and Haley Hoesly all won their Singles matches. Likewise, the teams of Bonnett-Kirchner, Grilliot-Howell, and Funk-Hoesly ran the table in Doubles.

Good job, Ladies!

Sept. 29: JV Bests Pekin

On Monday the JV Girls Tennis team traveled to Pekin and defeated the Dragons, 5-4. Sophie Evans, Kelsey Pyne, and Kirsten Thompson won their Singles matches. To clinch the meet victory, the teams of Evans-Christie Gannon and Thompson-Jordan Williams won at Doubles.

Great job, 'Cats!