By By STEVE MORRISON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Niles Lady Vikings senior tennis players Myra Carpenter, Sara Rouse, and Angeles Palma made their Senior Night at Niles High School a memorable experience Tuesday evening.
Each won her match over the visiting Bridgman Bees, as Niles recorded a 6-2 record for the matches. Mother Nature, as always, made it tough with a wind chill in the 30s.
Number three Vikings singles player, Carpenter, won a narrow decision, 7-5 over her opponent, Stephanie Kaltz in the initial set with steady returns, during lengthy volleys. The match proved to be the back-breaker, as Carpenter swept the second set easily, 6-0.
Palma, an exchange student from Mexico, took four singles over the Bees' Katie Higgins 6-2, 7-5 for her third win of the year. She humbly attributed her victory to concentration and a desire to win.
Rouse, with partner Jessica Bartocci, rounded out the seniors' perfect 3-0 evening in four doubles, winning 6-3 and 6-2.
"We've played hard teams, recently, and we've gotten better. Everything went well today!" Rouse explained.
Number one singles Viking Rachel Horn came back from a tight 5-7 loss to Bridgman's Amanda Klutts, in the first set, to win the second contest, with a flurry, 6-2. Klutts had to withdraw with an ankle injury in the final set, with Horn ahead, giving Horn the match.
For Niles in second doubles, Ali Langraf and Katie Bourbonnais escaped with a first round 7-5 triumph and blazed away to a 6-3 downing of Kelsey Jakeway and Jasmine Gipson to add to the Niles victory column.
Maybe the hardest earned victory for Niles came off of the racquet of number two singles, Sara Stenstrom. After winning the first set from her challenger, Bees'
Jill Bender 6-1, she was mesmerized by Bender's solid slams and tough work, up front, in the second set. Bender won 6-1. Stenstrom recovered nicely to win the match, on a 6-3 third set effort.
Niles' number one doubles lost a difficult match to the Bees. Vikings April Lee and Lena Cramer took the first set from Ellie Lyman and Sam Wells 6-2.
Three key shots by Cramer brought Niles back in the second set, but Lyman and Wells shook them off to win a tie-breaker 7-5. Lyman and Wells outlasted Lee and Cramer 6-4 in the deciding set.
A pleased but frozen Coach Jill Weber was lifted by the girls' effort.
"All the seniors won!" she commented in exuberance. "Sara (Stenstrom) came back in a nice third set. Number one doubles was close all the way. It was a nice win. All the seniors played really well. Angeles and Kyra played really good matches," Weber added.
Bridgman…2
Niles…6
Singles
1. Rachel Horn (N) d. Amanda Klutts (B) 5-7, 6-2 (Klutts retired in the third set); 2. Sara Stenstrom (N) d. Jill Bender (B) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3; 3. Kyra Carpenter (N) d. Stephanie Kaltz (B) 7-5, 6-0; 4. Angeles Palma (N) d. Katie Higgin (B) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Ellie Lyman-Sam Wells (B) d. April Lee-Lena Cramer (N) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4; 2. Ali Langraf-Katie Bourbannais (N) d.Kelsey Jakeway-Jasmine Gipson (B) 7-5, 6-3; 3. Greta Englund-Megan Hauck (B) d. Lauren Given-Megan Hein (N) 6-2, 6-4; 4. Sara Rouse-Jessica Bartocci (N) d. Emily Kamp-Lindsey Clements(B) 6-3, 6-2