In the beginning, the pressure was to win so Hononegah could regain the NIC-10 girls tennis title it lost to Guilford last year by less than a point.
But Hononegah played so well at this year’s tournament that the only pressure as Saturday’s final day wore on was to keep up with their teammates. Hononegah did that, too. Katie Hardwick and Emma Tapia won the No. 2 singles title 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Belvidere North. And Peyton Wilson and Tabby McKay came from even farther behind at No. 3 doubles. After being blanked in the opening set, they rallied to beat a Harlem duo 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“It means a lot to me,” McKay said, “especially because everybody else was doing so good. We wanted to do that, too. We came so far for it. Last year we weren’t even top three on JV.”
“We just stayed confident,” Wilson added. “We kept working hard. We didn’t let ourselves get down.”
Hononegah swept all three doubles titles and Riley Toye won at No. 2 singles over Auburn freshman Sahana Padmanabhan, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The only thing keeping Hononegah from a clean sweep was Elle Loch’s loss to longtime friend and rival Avery Trapp of Auburn in the No. 1 singles final.
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“It’s a good feeling,” Loch said. “Our team has worked so hard for this. Last year was close. Getting the title back is a symbol of hard work and dedication.”
The title was Hononegah’s second in three years but only its fifth all-time.
“I am really proud of my team,” said Lacey Foss, who teamed with Harper Powell to win the No. 1 doubles title. “A lot of people weren’t even on varsity last year. We all put a lot of effort into it.”
And while they won the team title in a breeze with 57.8 points to runner-up Auburn’s 43.2, all of their individual titles came hard. The only one of their four titles that didn’t go three sets was Foss and Powell’s lengthy 6-4, 7-5 win over Guilford’s Laci Belknap and Yeva Ksenafontova at No. 1 doubles.
“I was shaking, I was so nervous,” Foss said. “But we got it back.
“Me and Harper started playing together our freshman year. Being able to win now is special.”
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Winning was also special for Auburn’s Avery Trapp. For what she did. And for who she followed. Trapp beat Loch 6-0, 6-3 in the finals to repeat as No. 1 singles champion.
That gives Auburn eight consecutive NIC-10 No. 1 singles champs in girls tennis. Belen Nevenhoven, who led the University of Arizona in doubles wins the last two years, won four years in a row. Amy Park won the next two years — and won four sectional titles, two in singles and two in doubles when she played behind Nevenhoven. And now Trapp has won two, beating Loch both times.
“It’s really fun playing against Elle because we’ve known each other since we were 6 and we have always been playing each other,” Trapp said. “It’s really cool. I feel I am carrying on the legacy Amy and Belen left before me. It’s a surreal experience. I am definitely not filling their shoes as much as they did, but it’s an honor to be part of the Auburn legacy.”
2024 NIC-10 girls tennis results
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Hononegah, 57.7
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Auburn, 43.2
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Belvidere North, 42.6
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Guilford, 41.4
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Harlem, 41
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Boylan, 33.8
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Freeport, 23
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Belvidere, 21.2
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East, 11
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Jefferson, 3
Hononegah NIC-10 girls tennis titles
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hononegah dominates to regain NIC-10 girls tennis tournament title
