L-P’s Nick Olivero places second at L-P tennis sectional: Saturday’s NewsTribune roundup

BOYS TENNIS

At La Salle: La Salle-Peru senior Nick Olivero placed second and the Princeton doubles team of Asa Gartin and Jackson Mason finished third at the Class 1A La Salle-Peru Sectional on Saturday at the L-P Sports Complex.

“It feels really good,” Olivero said. “I’m happy that the work during the season really paid off. There were some really good players at this sectional.”

Olivero, the No. 3 seed, beat No. 2 Dane Hutchinson, of Metamora, 6-1-6-3 in the semifinals to advance to the championship.

“I feel I did well at playing aggressive, keeping the ball in play and coming up to the net when I could,” Olivero said.

He lost to top-seeded Connor Barth, of Morris, 6-3, 6-1 in the title match.

“I feel I played well in the championship,” Olivero said. “Connor played really well.”

Gartin and Mason, the No. 5 seed, lost to Metamora’s Tommy Sopko and Adam Culp, the No. 1 seed, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.

The Tiger duo bounced back to win 6-2, 6-1 over No. 6 Noah Gross and Evan Kraftt, of Ottawa, in the third-place match.

Metamora won the team title with 23 points, while L-P and Morris tied for second with 10 and Princeton was fourth with seven.

The state tournament is Thursday-Saturday at various sites in the Chicago suburbs.

GIRLS SOCCER

Byron 3, Mendota 1: Crystal Garcia scored the lone goal for the Trojans on an assist from Kaley Siemer as their season came to an end in a Class 1A Alleman Sectional semifinal in Moline.

“It took us a little longer than we’d have liked to get our legs under us in the game,” Mendota coach Nick Myers said. “We just could not absorb Byron’s pressure in the first part of the first half, which led to two Byron goals. I was very proud of how we responded after halftime. We made adjustments that caused us to get more pressure on Byron.”

Myers said the Trojans needed to make changes to attack the Tiger defense.

“Byron played a very deep defense, which caused our attack issues in the first half,” Myers said. “We were able to adjust and get back into the game in the second half. We made it quite interesting in the last 10 minutes.”

The Trojans finish the season with a school record for wins at 16-8-1.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better season, getting a regional title, setting the school record for wins, seeing our girls learn how to win and seeing them take a huge liking to soccer,” Myers said. “Our seniors led by example. Ella Coss came out this year and had an instant impact. She set the tone every day. Elaina Reddin was a vocal leader for three years playing multiple positions. Noemi (Arteaga), Kaley and Crystal as four-year starters were a main catalyst for us turning around girls soccer. They were staples for four years. I’m so proud and glad they were able to get a regional before leaving.”

Myers said the Trojans will look to build on this year’s success.

“Our future is very bright with lots of girls returning and now we have more confidence,” Myers said.

SOFTBALL

At Metamora: La Salle-Peru capped the regular season by splitting a pair of nonconference games, losing 1-0 to Metamora and beating Sterling 11-4.

Against Metamora, Karmen Piano and Callie Mertes each had a hit for L-P, while Claire Boudreau took the loss as she allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and five walks in a complete game.

Kelsey Frederick hit a home run and a triple as she finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs against Sterling, while Anna Riva doubled twice, drove in three runs and scored a run and Mertes was 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs.

Taylor Vescogni was the winning pitcher for L-P (29-5) as she gave up three runs on four hits with six strikeouts and five walks in five innings.