Tennis team remains undefeated in regular season
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It became apparent early in the 2019 season that the East Troy and Big Foot-Williams Bay girls tennis teams were going to battle for the top spot in the Rock Valley Conference.
The Trojans can check that goal off their bucket list – and focus on even bigger items coming down the pike.
East Troy secured the regular-season title last week with a 5-2 win over the visiting Chiefs to improve to 5-0 in RVC dual meets. The win moved the Trojans to a perfect 23-0 and ran their current winning streak to 55 straight.
Next up for East Troy, ranked fifth in Division 2, is a shot at the overall conference title Thursday at UW-Whitewater. Play begins at 3 p.m.
East Troy coach Dave Lindow said his team knew exactly what was on the line in the dual against Big Foot.
“The kids played great knowing that both teams were undefeated in conference,” he said. “We don’t talk about ‘big’ matches. Our mentality is that all matches are the same and important, whether they are in July or September.
“We treat all the matches the same. Our mental toughness has been great all year. The kids wanted their second straight undefeated conference season, and they went out and got it.”
East Troy ran the table in singles against the Chiefs.
Picking up wins were freshman Lauren Lindow at No. 1, 6-2, 6-0 over Hannah Palmer; senior Sydney Raddeman at No. 2, 6-3, 6-2 over Jameson Gregory; junior Jessica Tess at No. 3, 6-3, 6-1 over Katie Kirschlager; and junior Izzy Galluzzo at No. 4, 6-1, 6-0 over Morgan Berg.
The Trojans’ fifth win of the afternoon came at No. 2 doubles, as the team of sophomore Olivia Fitch and junior Emma Scuric defeated Annie Rowe and Keaton Sperling, 6-2, 6-0.
Falling to the Chiefs were freshmen Katie Metcalf and Sophia Rondeau at No. 1 doubles, 2-6, 0-6 to Emily Gauger and Claire Heckert and juniors Emily Stern and Olivia Egle at No. 3, 4-6, 6-7 (3) to Katie Kirschlager and Faith Long.
Lindow improved to 21-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play and enters conference as the top seed at No. 1 singles.
“She has done an outstanding job playing this spot as a freshman,” Dave Lindow said. “She has been patient and will look to be the first No. 1 singles player to win a conference championship in school history.”
Raddeman improved to 23-0 overall and 5-0 in the RVC, Tess moved to 22-1 and 5-0, and Galluzzo now is 20-3 and 4-1. Raddeman won the conference title a year at No. 2 singles. Both her and Tess will be the top seed, while Galluzzo enters as the second seed.
Fitch-Scurek enter Thursday at 23-0 and 5-0 in conference and are seeded first at No. 2 doubles. Egle-Stern are 21-2 and 4-1 and the second seed, while Rondeau-Metcalf are 17-6 and 3-2 and seeded third.
East Troy finished the conference season at 5-0, followed by Big Foot at 4-1, McFarland at 3-2, Jefferson at 2-3, Whitewater at 1-4 and Edgerton at 0-5.
“I’m extremely proud of these girls, who have done everything I have asked of them over the course of the year,” Lindow said. “They have worked really hard to achieve their team goal of winning a conference championship, and they have a chance of obtaining that Thursday night.
“It’s been a good mix of our returning letterwinners with some great play out of new kids. Our three freshmen have been outstanding playing in the top (singles and doubles) spots. It will be a fun night (Thursday) watching my team compete.”
East Troy opened the week with a 5-2 win over McFarland last Tuesday afternoon.
Winning singles matches were Lindow at No. 1, 6-1, 6-1; Raddeman at No. 2, 6-2, 6-3; and Tess at No. 3, 6-4, 4-6, 13-11. Scuric-Fitch at No. 2 doubles and Egle-Stern at No. 3 also were victorious with wins of 6-0, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-4, respectively.
Falling to the Spartans were Galluzzo at No. 4 singles, 4-6, 0-6, and Rondeau-Metcalf at No. 1 doubles, 6-7 (4), 6-7 (4).
The Trojans will close out their regular season Monday afternoon against Division 1 foe Kenosha Bradford at 4 p.m. The dual is the program’s Breast Cancer Awareness match, and this year’s seniors also will be honored.
