Alton takes 4th Place in Robert Logan Girls Tennis Invite

Even as he watched his Jersey High girls tennis team beat Granite City in the second round of Saturday’s Robert Logan Tennis Tournament, Panthers coach Dan Diamond knew the upcoming championship match against Triad would be a tough row to hoe.

Diamond was right, but even in a 4-1 title-match loss to the Knights at Triad, he saw glimpses that made him stick out his chest a bit.

“I thought our girls played fantastic today,” Diamond said. “Triad is a great program and they showed it, but we had some opportunities. Our No. 2 doubles lost 7-6, 7-6 and we had some other really good efforts.”

Triad went 3-0 to win the tournament championship, while Jersey finished 2-1, good for runner-up in the tournament, which was also played at Alton High School, Gordon Moore Park and Tri-Township Park in Troy

Highland blanked Alton High 5-0 for third place at AHS, Civic Memorial beat Marquette 5-0 for fifth at Moore Park and Collinsville defeated Granite City 5-0 at Tri-Township Park in Troy in the seventh-place match.

Earlier scores included Alton 5, Granite City 0; Jersey 4, Alton 1; Highland 4, CM 1; Marquette 5, Granite City 0 and CM 5, Collinsville 0.

Logan, the tournament’s namesake, was a former Marquette Catholic High player and Alton High coach who passed away at age 30 from cancer in 2016. Previously known as the Riverbend Tournament, the name was changed three years ago in memory of Logan.

“It’s a special tournament, knowing that it’s named for Robert,” Diamond said. “I coached against him when he was playing and later when he coached. He was a special guy who was always thinking of payers and not just his players. He was there for our players as well.

“This tournament is a nice way to keep his name alive and make sure future players know about him.”

Jersey’s lone win against Triad in the final was by the doubles team of Lily Ingram and Michelle Maag, who posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Diamond said that against Triad, his Jersey Panthers were facing an experienced team that used depth and experience with winning close matches.

“In tennis, half the battle is the mental part,” Diamond said. “That, and believing in yourself. We showed that and Triad is excellent at it.

“I’m really proud of how our girls hung in there today. Overall, they played great.”

Alton coach Jesse Macias, when not working his duties as a tournament host, found time to talk about his team’s fourth-place finish.

“This is the kind of competition we need to see,” Macias said. “Our girls our learning every match more about what it takes to win.

“Against Highland (in the third-place match), there were times some of our players would hang in on long points , but then would get their heads down if they lost the point.

“But we’re working on getting them to work through that and get better at closing matches.”

Against Granite City, Alton singles winners were Lydia Criveau, who beat Darcy Popmarkoff 6-2, 6-0, and Ainsley Fortschneider, who beat Shelby Hawk 6-1, 67-0. Doubles winners for the Redbirds incuded the team of Anna Kane and Paige Rockholm, who beat Peyton Hatfield and Maura Withers 6-3, 6-2 Angelina Taul and Anna Sommerhoff, who defeated Alivia Vaughn and Carmen Williams 6-2, 6-0, and Amelia Redman and Grace Carter, who downed Granite’s Bella Brooksher and Heidi Shipkowski 7-5, 6-0.

CM, which went 2-1 en route to its fifth-place finish.

“We had a great day of tennis,” CM coach Matt Carmody said following the Eagles’ win over Marquette in the fifth-place match. “Even in the loss to Highland, there was a high level of focus. Our girls came to play today. They get up for this tournament.

“Three of the four matches went to three-set tiebreakers,” Carmody said.

Singles winners for CM in the fifth-place match against Marquette included Allie Lively, who beat Alexis Williams 6-1, 6-0, and Brooke Barker, who defeated Olivia Tinsley 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

Macias said the tournament makes for a long day, but it’s worth the effort.

“Triad, Highland and Jersey were the three best teams in the tournament and they played like it,” Macias said. “(coach) Devan (Faulkenburg) has had Triad at the top of this tournament for a while, they are deserving champions.

“I think Robert would have been proud of all the players today,” he sad. “The sportsmanship was excellent and level of play was fun to watch. There were good matches on all the courts each round.

“We think about Robert a lot and want to do everything we can to keep his legacy alive. This tournament gives our younger players a chance to know who Robert was and for the coaches, it’s nice to share stories about him.”