PR doubles team jells in big way

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CRYSTAL LAKE – Allison Murphy and Carolyn Huerth made a statement for Prairie Ridge on Monday that they are no longer singles players playing doubles but a doubles team with which to be reckoned.

Murphy and Huerth defeated Elana Woldenberg and Rachel Goldberg, 6-0, 6-0, in the Wolves’ 4-3 non-conference loss to Highland Park (5-1). Woldenberg, a junior, won four matches at the IHSA State Finals a year ago with a different partner.

Heading into the match, the Wolves’ duo expected to be challenged. In not giving up a game, they met that challenge in what Murphy called “one of the best matches we’ve played.”   

“Hard work paid off,” Huerth said. “I heard they were a good team, so we wanted to step it up.”  

All facets of the game were clicking for Murphy and Huerth – they served well, got to the net for put-aways and hit blistering service returns. It was those service returns that allowed them to get to and control the net.

“We did really well setting each other up to poach at the net,” Murphy said.

Prairie Ridge coach Jessica Fetzner said it was the movement on the court that most impressed her. Typically, she said, her top doubles team relies on ground strokes and is not as aggressive at the net as she would like.

“They were moving much faster,” Fetzner said. “They were setting themselves up and getting to the net quicker.”

Highland Park coach Katie Lashbrook said pairing Woldenberg with Goldberg, a freshman, was still a work in progress. That didn’t take anything away from Murphy and Huerth, said Lashbrook, whose team faces many of the North Shore perennial powers.

“[Murphy and Huerth] are definitely as good as any team we’ve played,” Lashbrook said.

Although the match wasn’t as close as expected or even hoped for, getting a lopsided win against a quality program was a confidence builder for Murphy and Huerth.

“It’s a big boost just to know we can compete with schools like that,” Murphy said.

Hannah Gummerson lost at No. 1 singles for the Wolves (4-2) to Lauren Schechtman, 6-1, 6-4, but came away with a moral victory.

After a first set that often saw her looking overmatched, Gummerson came back and played a solid second set to challenge Schechtman, a freshman. Gummerson found her groove in the second set and began hitting ground-stroke winners and deep shots that kept Schechtman off guard.

“She played great,” Fetzner said of Gummerson.

Also winning for Prairie Ridge were Hannah Locher at No. 2 singles and Carrie Keahl and Emily Bruksch at No. 3 doubles.