The 2022 IHSA Girls’ Tennis 1A state quarterfinal and semifinal rounds take place Friday morning at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Maeve Paris
“The season, to this point, has been one for the record books,” reports Head Coach Gerard Sullivan. His Friars have:
won titles atthree invitationals.
an undefeated GCAC regular season followed by a repeat of the GCAC conference tournament title.
a perfect score at the IHSA Sectional, which was hosted by Timothy Christian (the team that tied the Friars for third in state last season).
Kate Trifilio
The six players at state are seniors Maeve Paris and Kate Trifilio, junior Trinity Hardin, and sophomores Rachel Abraham, Lily Brecknock (pictured above, top) and Megan Trifilio.
“Five of the players are back from last year’s state team,” reports Coach Sully, “with the addition of Lily, whose results this year at #1 singles have earned the #1 seed in the 1A state tournament draw. Her singles ‘partner,’ Megan, has also had impressive results, and is seeded #4 in singles. Both doubles’ teams are seeded in the draw as well: Hardin / Trifilio in the #5-8 group and Paris / Abraham in the #9-16 group.”
Let’s go, Friars! Bring that 1A state title home to Oak Park!
Friars win their Sectional and claim first conference title since joining the GCAC eight years ago!
Conference and Sectional titles were impressive achievements for the Fenwick girls’ tennis team, but they saved the best for last by earning a third-place trophy — of 80 teams represented — at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 1A State Finals this past Thursday through Saturday in Buffalo Grove, IL!
Kate Trifilio’s 0-6, 7-5 (10-6) win in the second round of the main draw was key to the team result and earned her a top-24 finish at State!
The Friars tallied 12 match wins, reports Head Coach Gerard Sullivan: two in the main draw from Kate Trifilio in singles (17th place of 64) and five each from doubles pairs Rachel Abraham & Maeve Paris (9th) and Trinity Hardin & Megan Trifilio (sixth). En route to their finish, Fenwick players pulled off three upsets of higher seeds and went 2-1 in three-set matches. “Congratulations to the team and their coaches for a great finish to a record-setting season!” praised Athletic Director Scott Thies ’99.
GGAC & Sectional run
On Saturday, October 9, at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL, the team won its first Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) title in the eight years since joining the conference. They won three of their five head-to-head matches against the Ramblers, sealing the title a week after dropping three of five in the teams’ dual meet.
Erin Hayes led the way with a 2 ½-hour semifinal win at #2 singles; Maeve Paris / Rachel Abraham followed, with another semi-final win at #3 doubles, and Megan Trifilio / Trinity Hardin sealed the title in a Rambler demolition in the #1 doubles championship.
Megan Trifilio (left) and Trinity Hardin take 6th in doubles, leading the Friars at the state meet in Buffalo Grove last weekend.
A sweep of the Ramblers was still possible, and Kate Trifilio at #1 singles and Caroline Blair / Kate Dugan at #2 doubles pushed their opponents to tie-breakers in their narrow losses. K. Trifilio placed 4th at #1, Hayes 2nd at #2, M. Trifilio / Hardin 1st at #1 doubles, Blair / Dugan 2nd at #2, and Abraham / Paris 1st at #3.
Paris’s conference title was achieved at the end of her first week of competition after sitting out the first six weeks of the season with a broken arm, Sullivan points out. Her only regular-season match to prepare her was a win with Abraham over OPRF three days before conference. But in 2020, Paris was a #1 doubles player and a sectional third-place finisher who would have gone to state. Unfortunately, the 2020 State tournament was canceled due to COVID concerns.
Maeve Paris (left) and Rachel Abraham took out two seeded teams in the back draw to place 9th in Illinois 1A.
Then, in Lemont, IL, the team won its fifth Sectional title, overwhelming the other eight teams and finishing with 30 points of a possible 36. Erin Hayes won two rounds in singles, knocking out the #5 seed in her second win and losing to the #4 seed in her qualifying match. Kate Trifilio also pulled off an upset of the #2 seed in her semifinal, advancing to the singles championship and finishing as runner-up for the second straight year. Unlike last year, Kate and the other four qualifiers were headed to State, this time with the depth of quality needed for a high team finish.
Both doubles teams advanced to the title match and faced each other in a Fenwick vs. Fenwick doubles final. Rachel Abraham / Maeve Paris were seeded 6th and took out two seeds, including the #2 seeded Nazareth team on their way to the final. Megan Trifilio / Trinity Hardin played up to their #1 seed, giving up no more than two games in any set in their march to the title.
The Friars were one of 16 sectional champion teams at the State tournament but clearly had momentum going in that put them near the top.
