Trojans win doubles tourney

HIGHLAND — While it’s always nice to have the top spot on the team and an even bigger reputation in the area, having fun is the real motive for Vanessa Madrigal.

The Highland No. 1 singles standout is widely known in tennis circles throughout the area. Her undefeated record, including points in marquee matchups, surely contributes to that.

And Saturday, at the third annual Highland Doubles Tournament, Madrigal was, of course, out to have some fun.

After a strong 6-0 win in the first set of the No. 2 doubles final against the Michigan City duo of Brooke Foltz and Lena Carlson, the sophomore and partner Michelle Geissler were trailing 3-2 at the beginning of the second set.

But the Trojans took control. And to capitalize on the momentum, Madrigal placed a nearly impossible winning shot to her right side. The play, far out of the Wolves’ reach, resulted in the 6-3 victory.

“It’s really fun, I like being at (No.) 1 (singles) and stuff, but I have no problem going to any spot,” Madrigal said. “I have fun when I play.”

Spotting winners is a skill that Madrigal attributes to training with her mother, Ofelia Madrigal.

“My mom, she’s always been working on it with me,” she said. “She’s the master of top spin and under spin. So, I’ve seen that shot so many times. So, it would suck if I missed it.”

That win and two other finals victories helped the hosts to their third consecutive invite championship. They edged runner-up Michigan City 17-16 in a tightly contested match.

“We’ve just had strong teams these past three years,” Highland coach Adam Baez said. “We’ve not always been this good.”

That strength continued throughout the day with a 6-0, 6-1 win for the No. 1 team of Liz Quinn and Aby Madrigal and a 7-5, 6-3 win for the No. 3 team of Meredith Garcia and Nikki Goodeve. Garcia and Goodeve’s point clinched the match.

“We wanted to make sure we stayed steady, so we could build on this and the whole year,” said Quinn about the No. 1 win. They only gave up three points total.

Each of the four Michigan City doubles teams made it into the championship, though none of the squads won in the finals. The Wolves were also the runners-up in 2010.

“We had our chance, we had our four teams get in the finals, we’re happy with that,” Michigan City coach Norm Bruemmer said.

Valparaiso, which finished third with 13 points, won the fourth finals point. The Vikings’ No. 4 team of Katie McDonald and Sonya Schaffer had sets of 6-0, 6-4.

“I think we might’ve gotten tired,” said McDonald, who usually plays No. 3 singles. “We might’ve lost focus for a little bit, but we brought it back.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.