Arends learns from state tournament debut

Updated: October 25, 2011 5:57PM

Now that the tennis season is over, Oak Park-River Forest freshman Taylor Arends prepares for her next challenge.

Arends will participate in a few U.S. Tennis Association tournaments over the winter, but her next major sport comes in the spring when the shortstop plans on trying out for one of the Huskies’ softball teams.

Arends ended her first tennis season at the state meet. She went 2-1 in her debut, but lost 6-2, 7-5 to New Trier’s Carol Finke, a 9-16 seed at singles, in the tournament.

With rain pelting the Northwest suburbs Oct. 20, consolation play was cancelled for all players, ending Arends season.

Arends opened the state meet with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Rockford Boylan’s Jessica Krandel at Palatine. Arends won in the next round with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Illiana Christian’s Zhavia Gray.

“I thought it was really good. It was a good experience,” Arends said. “I thought it was a good match (against Finke), although the score didn’t show it in the first set.”

Before appearing in the state meet, Arends said she did not seek out any specific advice from teammates on what to expect. Three other OPRF players, Samantha Schafer, Tess Trinka and Emma Forman, made repeat appearances at the state meet.

“I was really nervous,” Arends said. “I didn’t know anything about the people I was going to play. Nobody gave me any advice. I just wanted to try my hardest.”

Arends doesn’t know what her future plans are for next year’s team, whether she will continue as a singles player or play doubles. She will train for both during the offseason.
“I will work on my net game for doubles next year,” Arends said.

The only other OPRF players to compete in more than one match at state was the doubles team of Forman and Trinka, who went 2-1. Forman and Trinka also lost in the third round, 6-2, 6-2, suffering a defeat to Deerfield’s Jenna Borzak and Jorie Fox. Their first-round match was a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Fenwick’s Julia Mastrangeli and Natalie Greico.

Schafer, OPRF’s No. 1 singles player during the regular season, lost her only match to Mundelein’s Air Dechter, 7-5, 7-6 (6-4).

The doubles squad of Hannah Meyer and Allison Zelby lost their one match, 6-2, 6-2, to Benet’s Kim Simmons and Madeline Carney.

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