Hughes, Bayer lead C-G

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CARY – Beth Hughes and Arley Bayer went 3-0 at No. 1 doubles Saturday at the Cary-Grove Invitational in a tuneup for the postseason tournaments.

Hughes and Bayer had wins against Hononegah, Geneva and Bartlett. C-G defeated Hononegah, 5-0, but lost to Geneva and Bartlett, both by 4-1 scores.

Hughes said playing in a multiple match event against teams they don’t know is good preparation, especially for the state tournament. Beating them makes it even better.

“I think this is a really good confidence booster,” Hughes said. “It’s really nice to not know about the teams when they come here.”

Bayer’s and Hughes’ biggest win came in their third match where they defeated Bartlett’s Katie Gates and Kayla Kress, 7-5, 6-1. Gates was a state qualifier last year in doubles with a different partner.

Both teams had defeated Geneva’s Carly Ausman and Emily Malocha, but the C-G duo struggled in the first set before winning, 7-5, 6-1. Bartlett defeated Geneva handily, 6-1, 6-1.

Knowing those results, Hughes and Bayer went into the match against Bartlett wanting to play aggressively but in control.

“We had nothing to lose,” Hughes said. “We were really smart with our shots. We didn’t always go for the power shot.”

Hughes and Bayer were in sync the whole match, moving in unison and controlling the net.

“I think that we communicated very well,” Bayer said. “I was on my toes and ready. I was really looking to get those net shots.”

Trojans coach Bud Lachel said his top team is playing better this year and hopes they can challenge for FVC and sectional championships. The difference, he said, is this year they are not just getting the ball back, but hitting it with a plan.

“They’re finding the holes in the [opponent’s] offense,” Lachel said. “Last year they were just getting the ball back in play.”

That was evident against Bartlett where Hughes crushed Gates and Kress at the net with several offensive lob winners.

“Last year that ball would have just gone up in the air,” Lachel said. “Now they’re doing something with it on purpose.”

Also for Cary-Grove, Alyssa Derer and Macy Koepke defeated Hononegah at No. 3 doubles, lost a close match against Geneva and won the first set against Bartlett before dropping a three-setter.

Becky King and Jessica McKune also played a close match against Bartlett at No. 2 doubles for the Trojans. King and McKune lost the first two sets in tiebreakers.