East Troy will host Division 2 subsectional on Monday
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Entering the 2014 season, it looked like inexperience would play a role for the East Troy High School girls tennis team.
But by the end of the regular-season last week, the Trojans once again had a solid finish to their credit.
For the 21st straight year, East Troy posted a winning record and closed out Rock Valley Conference play with a solid third-place finish
McFarland won the conference tournament with 31 points, followed by Jefferson with 20, East Troy with 19, Whitewater with 17, Big Foot with 15 and Edgerton with 10.
“We had an awesome conference tournament,” East Troy coach David Lindow said. “I’m proud of how this team has come together.”
Leading the way at the conference tournament was freshman Anna Stephan, who won the title at No. 4 singles.
Stephan (12-5 overall) opened with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Big Foot’s Sam Hartwig, followed by a 6-3, 6-3 win over Edgerton’s Hailey Voss to advance to the finals.
In that match, Stephan, who is the first conference champion as a freshman in the program’s history, outlasted McFarland’s Natalie Robb, 2-, 6-4 (14-12).
“I’m so proud of Anna, as she has continued to get better every week and capped it off with a great tournament,” Lindow said.
East Troy also had two other medal winners, sophomore Lora Leach at No. 1 singles, and senior Kora Gaspervich at No. 2.
Leach, who is the program’s first No. 1 singles player to finish in the top two spots, defeated her Whitewater counterpart 6-2, 6-1, followed by a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jefferson’s Molly Balliet in the semifinals.
In the finals, Leach, who played at No. 3 doubles last year, fell 4-6, 3-6 to McFarland’s Sabrina Fillmore. Leach now is 9-11 overall.
“She has come a long way and is having a successful season at the No. 1 spot,” Lindow said. “She has really played well at (that) spot all year.”
Gaspervich split her first two matches, as she beat Big Foot 6-3, 6-0, but fell 3-6, 1-6 to McFarland’s Jackie Silvis. In the third-place match, she defeated Edgerton’s Danielle Erb 6-3, 6-4, to improve to 13-6.
“She has played consistent tennis and has done a great job over the past two years in singles,” Lindow said.
Finishing fourth for the Trojans were junior Vanessa Dingman and senior Ariel Baxter at No. 1 doubles, junior Hunter Scheel and sophomore Claudia Pott at No. 2 ad freshman Alison Barth and sophomore Kelly Griffa at No. 3.
Dingman-Baxter beat Jefferson 6-4, 6-3, but fell 0-6, 1-6 to Big Foot and 2-6, 1-6 to Whitewater. The duo now is 13-9 overall.
“(That’s a) very nice record for the first time playing together and at the top doubles’ spot,” Lindow said.
The team of Scheel-Pott defeated McFarland 6-7 (4), 6-4, 13-11 in the opening round, but fell 1-6, 1-6 to Whitewater and 6-7 (5), 3-6 to Jefferson. They now are 13-8 overall.
“They played the best they have all year,” Lindow said.
Barth-Griffa defeated Big Foot 6-4, 6-4, before they fell 2-6, 1-6 to Jefferson and 4-6, 4-6 to Edgerton.
“They are young players who will be a big part of our team moving forward,” Lindow said.
Freshman Victoria Pott fell in both of her matches at No. 3 singles. Pott lost 3-6, 3-6 to Big Foot and 4-6, 6-2, 9-11 to Edgerton’ Hailee Wilson. She now is 8-11 overall.
“She was very raw in the beginning of the year and is finally starting to hit the ball well,” Lindow said.
Tourney run begins
East Troy will host a WIAA Division 2 subsectional Monday, Oct. 6, at 8 a.m. The sectional is set for Wednesday, Oct. 8, at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Lindow is excited to see what his team can do in the post-season
“I finally saw our team step up and not play like first-year players,” he said. “I think we turned the corner at the conference tournament, and I’m looking forward to the future with these kids and a great group of freshmen coming in next year.”
