Solid all-around play leads Streator past Kankakee in 4-1 victory

STREATOR – The key to being successful in any sport is to first identify your opponent’s weaknesses and then try to exploit them to the best of your ability.

The Streator girls tennis No. 1 doubles team of seniors Madelyn Wahl and Joyce Walkling did just that in a 6-1, 6-2 victory Monday against Kankakee at the SHS courts. As a team, the Bulldogs won four of the five matches to claim the victory.

[ Photos: Streator vs. Kankakee tennis ]

“Joyce and I could tell right away after the opening couple of games that hitting the money shot or right down the line was going to be [key],” said Wahl, who played doubles her first three years, started this year at singles and has recently gone back to doubles with Walkling as a partner.

“Their player at the net was always playing more towards the middle of the court and leaving the outside open. They really didn’t adjust, and we basically won the entire opening set just focusing on hitting the ball down the line.”

The triumph helped the Bulldogs beat the Kays and improve the team’s record to 9-7 on the season.

“We like to talk, we like to tell each other nice job, and we like to make sure we know what the other one is doing during each point.”

—  Madelyn Wahl, Streator No. 1 doubles player on her and partner Joyce Walkling

“The communication we have, and maybe some feel it’s a little loud at times, just works for us,” Walkling said as the two laughed. “Like Madelyn said, we knew right away what our game plan was going to be. We talked about how we were going to go with that plan until we had to change it up. That never really happened, and we just stuck with what was working.

“We had a similar match earlier this season, so we’d been in that situation before. I think we are both pretty strong at the net and we both used that to our advantage. I also feel like we did a good job covering for each other when they did get a shot past us at the net.”

Wahl said it was business as usual for the duo.

“Joyce and I have always been yappers, and we have the same energy in practice,” Wahl said. “We obviously play to win, but we also don’t stress out too much and are here to have fun. I feel like our communication sometimes throws our opponents off a little bit. We like to talk, we like to tell each other nice job, and we like to make sure we know what the other one is doing during each point.”

Streator also received victories at No. 2 doubles from Indyana Hernandez and Isabell Gutierrez (4-6, 6-4, 10-5), as well as No. 3 doubles from Adelaide Mahan and Audrey Arambula (6-1, 6-0).

The Bulldogs’ No. 1 singles player Garvi Patel earned a 6-7, 6-1, 10-8 triumph, while at No. 2 singles, Annika Michlik, playing a singles match for the first time in her career, battled throughout but eventually dropped a tough 7-6, 7-6 (9-7) decision.

“I’ve been playing doubles since sophomore year, but we made a switch, and it gave me a chance to play singles,” Michlik said. “This was really kind of a test if singles would work or if I needed to go back doubles with a different partner than I had. Even though I lost, I think I’m going to stick with singles for the rest of the season. I felt like I played pretty well.

“It was a tough match, but I never felt I was out of it. The biggest adjustment was making sure I was hitting the ball inside the singles’ lines and not the doubles, which I’m used to. I’ve been through a lot of tie-breaks this season in doubles, so being in that situation wasn’t anything new. I just didn’t make a couple of shots that I maybe should have, but I also feel like this will help me the next time that situation comes up.”

Streator returns to action next Tuesday when it travels to take on Mendota before returning home on Wednesday for senior night against Kewanee.