Rochelle netters combine for four wins in postseason tournament

ROCKFORD — A change of scenery didn’t hold the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity tennis team back from turning in a strong performance in the IHSA 1A Rochelle Sectional on Friday.

With rainy conditions forcing a relocation to the Boylan Indoor Tennis Center, the Lady Hubs didn’t begin sectional play until the late afternoon, with matches running until almost midnight. Rochelle (6-9, 0-5 Interstate 8) managed to score four victories, however, with seniors Elin Zheng and Kara Martinez each reaching the quarterfinal round of the singles competition.

Martinez won two matches despite entering the tournament without a top-6 seed. Martinez dominated her first-round match against Keith Country Day’s Gianna Epperson, cruising without dropping a single game for a 6-0, 6-0 win. The senior then battled No. 6 seed Chase Helm from Rockford Christian in the second round, sweeping the first set and taking the second set while losing only one game to earn a 6-0, 6-1 win and a spot in the singles bracket quarterfinals.

“I’d describe Kara as a warrior,” head coach John Michael Loggins said. “She never wants to give up and I thought that showed during the sectional. She played a really strong match in the first round and she beat a seeded player handily in the second round. She faced a giant in the quarterfinals, but she made her earn it and I thought she played her best tennis all year.”

With a berth in the IHSA State Championship on the line, Martinez faced No. 3 seed Addison Arjes from Dixon in the quarterfinals, claiming two games in the first set but falling short in a 2-6, 0-6 loss. On the other side of the bracket, Zheng started her singles run as the No. 4 seed, earning a first-round bye before cruising 6-0, 6-0 over Rockford Christian’s Hannah Flickinger.  

The victory moved Zheng into the quarterfinal round, where she battled No. 5 seed Jordyn Tilstra from Sycamore for a chance to reach the state meet. Zheng played a strong first set against Tilstra, taking four games but ultimately falling in the match with a 4-6, 0-6 loss.

“Elin fought so hard in this tournament,” Loggins said. “She won handily during the second round and was really getting into the match. She was hitting her shots and she was even practicing some shots she would need for her next match. The first set took an hour and 20 minutes and even though she lost 4-6, there were points that would last for minutes. It was a cat-and-mouse game until someone pulled the trigger. Elin fought hard and she never gave up.”

Junior Riley Doyle and senior Macenzie Glosser earned Rochelle’s lone doubles victory in the sectional tournament. After receiving a first-round bye in the doubles bracket, the Lady Hub duo hung tough and took down Rockford Christian’s Cameran Groenwold and Taylor Powell 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Doyle and Glosser faced No. 2 seeds Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Isabelle Grisanzio from Rockford Boylan in the quarterfinals with a state bid on the line, falling 0-6, 0-6. 

Seniors Allie Dickey and Annaleigh McKinney opened the tournament with a first-round bye before conceding an 0-6, 0-6 loss against No. 3 seeds Katelyn de Guzman and Megan Hillman from Rockford Lutheran in the second round. With no athletes advancing to the state meet next week, the sectional tournament officially concluded the 2023 Rochelle Lady Hub tennis season.

“Annaleigh and Allie had the hardest draw of the first round,” Loggins said. “They went to deuce three times in the first set and if we had pulled out one or two of those deuces, we would have taken one or two games. They stayed positive and fought to the end… Riley and Macenzie earned their first win. They found ways to fight through their low moments and they found a way to close out the match, which was something they struggled with this year.”