High seed pleasant surprise for PR duo

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After a solid regular season capped off with a doubles championship at the Cary-Grove Girls Tennis Sectional, Prairie Ridge’s Allison Murphy and Carolyn Huerth were hoping for a 5-8 seed at the IHSA State Finals.

The duo got their wish and more. When the tournament begins today, the pair will have an unexpected 3-4 seed. Murphy and Huerth, both juniors, moved to doubles this year from singles, where both made deep runs in the state consolation bracket the past two years.  

“We were really excited,” Murphy said before practice Wednesday. “We were so surprised.”

The top-4 seed is the highest in school history for either the boys or girls programs, Prairie Ridge coach Jessica Fetzner said.

The only loss Murphy and Huerth had this year was against Barrington’s Meg Crowley and Alli Linden early in the season. Murphy and Huerth were up, 5-1, in the third set of that match before losing.

That loss might have been the biggest contributing factor in the high seed, as Crowley and Linden were awarded the
No. 1 seed at state. Murphy said she and Huerth had grown as a team since that match.
 “That was our first match of the year and we were more playing singles,” Murphy said.

If Murphy and Huerth get a rematch against the Barrington team in the championship bracket at state, it would be in the finals.

“I think we’d have a much better chance against them [now],” Murphy said.

Another factor was the 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Highland Park’s Elana Woldenberg and Rachel Goldberg. Woldenberg and Goldberg won their own sectional in doubles and are seeded 17-32.

Fetzner said she thought the high seed was acknowledgment of her team’s accomplishments both in singles and as a doubles team.

“They’re known entities,” Fetzner said. “They know how talented they are.”

With a heavy conference schedule, Prairie Ridge does not get to play many top schools. Not having common opponents with other seed hopefuls can have a detrimental effect.

“It’s hard for the seeding committee to knowledgeably place us,” Fetzner said at the Cary-Grove Sectional. “It can be quite frustrating.”

With a high seed and a pair that has been able to meld their individual singles games into a cohesive doubles team, Fetzner is justifiably confident in her players’ chances.

“All season they have had a quiet confidence about them,” Fetzner said. “They’ve kind of held back a little. I think they’re excited to let it all go at the state meet.”

Murphy and Huerth will play their opening rounds at Rolling Meadows.

Crystal Lake South’s Abbey Kolarczyk and Stephanie Brunetti also are seeded in the doubles draw and are slotted in the 9-16 group. The Gators’ duo lost to Huerth and Murphy in the finals of both the conference and sectional tournaments.

Kolarczyk and Brunetti also qualified together for state last year and they won their first two rounds in both the championship and consolation brackets.

Crystal Lake Central’s Nelle Youel picked up the only seed in singles for local players. She is seeded in the 17-32 group.

Youel is seeded in the lowest group despite going 29-0 this year without dropping a set.