The Rochelle Lady Hub tennis team has leaned on its senior class for both leadership and production over the last few seasons. That theme has remained consistent this fall, as the Lady Hubs currently roster 11 seniors, eight of which are starting at the varsity level.
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ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hub tennis team has leaned on its senior class for both leadership and production over the last few seasons. That theme has remained consistent this fall, as the Lady Hubs currently roster 11 seniors, eight of which are starting at the varsity level.
Rochelle recognized its senior class on Monday, when the Lady Hubs hosted Mendota for their annual Senior Night match. Both teams battled to the finish, with Rochelle taking two doubles points while Mendota swept both singles points. With a victory on the line, all eyes shifted to the No. 1 doubles court, where seniors Erin Murphy and Catherine Williams played a pair of tight sets before falling just short in a 6-7(5), 5-7 loss to Kylie Goldblatt and Leah Stamberger.
The hard-fought win enabled the Trojans to outlast Rochelle 3-2. The Lady Hubs (3-9, 1-2 Interstate 8) honored their 11 seniors including Erin Murphy, Catherine Williams, Abby Metzger, Lauren Dyer, Sydney Carmichael, Natalie Wagner, Kendyl Darby, Yaretzi Villalobos, Riley Doyle, Zoe White and Viviana Fulgencio in a brief ceremony before the start of the match Monday.
“We have several senior girls who’ve played on the team for a couple of years,” head coach Lizzie Cartwright said. “We had a nice influx of seniors who came out as juniors last year and seniors who came out this year. We have great upperclassman leadership and they’ve filled varsity spots this year. It’s been good for our underclassmen to have these girls as role models.”
Seniors Abby Metzger and Lauren Dyer were in firm command at the No. 2 doubles court, defeating Mendota’s Lauren Holland and Lidia Hernandez 6-2, 6-3. Seniors Natalie Wagner and Sydney Carmichael took their No. 3 doubles match against Mendota’s Lucie Brandner and Lilly Bokus, dominating the opening set and fighting off a second-set rally for a 6-0, 7-5 win.
“We’ve had some ups and downs this season,” Cartwright said. “We’ve had some really close matches that went down to tiebreakers or very close set scores. It was really nice to see our girls do well and overcome the challenges they’ve faced throughout the year. We definitely want the girls to finish strong and bring their focus and competitive attitudes to every match.”
Senior Kendyl Darby hung tough at the No. 2 singles court, claiming five games in her 2-6, 3-6 loss against Cassie Gonzalez. Senior Yaretzi Villalobos took the court at No. 1 singles, falling 0-6, 0-6 to Mendota’s Ella Lewis. Rochelle will host the Ottawa Pirates for an Interstate 8 match on Tuesday before returning to their home courts against Sterling Newman on Wednesday.
