Lady Coalers continue winning ways, earn second at Lemont Invite

    The Coal City girls tennis team added another notch to their win column Monday night, as they defeated St. Bede, 4-1.
    Winning matches on the night were No. 1 single Kiara Abbott, No. 2 singles Natalie Schoeneck, No. 1 doubles Sarah Moore and Leslie Youskevtch, and No. 2 doubles Jessie Hanley and Abby Gernenz.
    The win marks the team’s fifth in a row, and improves their overall record to 12-4. They play Romeoville and Joliet later in the week.
Lemont Invite
    The Lady Coalers grabbed a second place finish as a team on Saturday, only falling behind a very talented Plainfield North team during the Lemont Invitational.
    The second place finish marks the highest finish at this invitational in team history, another record maker for the varsity squad after their first place finish at the Coal City Quad two weeks ago.
    “It was a true team effort, as every team point counted,” said head coach Matt Leman. “We edged out Lemont for second place by a one-point margin, 24-23.”
    All four entries claimed third place finishes in their respective brackets, with Abbott playing solid tennis all day at the No. 1 singles spot.
    She lost to the eventual champion from Plainfield north in the second round.
    No. 2 single, Schoeneck, showed incredible grit, defeating Elmwood Park 6-0, 6-1 in round one, and then losing a heartbreaker to Romeoville, 2-6, 5-7, as she battled the heat but came up just short in the second round.
    She then finished over Lemont to take home the third place medal.  
    No. 2 doubles, Hanley and Gernenz, played their style of tennis all day with great passing shots and strong net offense. They defeated Bolingbrook and Morris, claiming their third place medal.
    The match of the day goes to No. 1 doubles, Moore and Youskevtch, who dispatched Romeoville in round one easily before falling to the champions, Plainfield North, 1-6, 1-6.
    They then faced the Morris no. 1 doubles team who had already defeated them twice on the season.
    In a close match, the duo grabbed the first set 6-4, before losing the second 4-6, as Morris forced a third set tiebreaker.
    Youskevtch’s serves were on point, while Moore was a wall at the net, claming the tiebreaker, 10-4, and securing the team second place, finishing  with their own third place medal.
    “I couldn't be more proud of this team and how they are playing their best tennis of the season,” said Leman. “We are right where we need to be as we prepare for the challenge of sectionals in a couple weeks.”
    Last Thursday, the girls also traveled to Kankakee, once again defeating the opposition, 5-0.