Playing on their home courts, the Pilgrims didn't have too much trouble with their opponents, as none of the five matches went beyond two sets. However, things were a little dicey at No. 1 doubles, where the top-seeded team of Pilgrim senior Heidi Keiser and freshman Carly Plumlee won 6-3, 6-4 against the 8th-seeded Northridge duo, Mackenzie Pletcher and Alyssa Hettinger.
"We had struggled with that team earlier in the year," Haeck said of Keiser and Plumlee's 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) over the Northridge tandem on May 3 in Plymouth. "They just play a different style than we're used to, maybe. We kind of hung in there and got the job done."
The easiest match on Haeck's nerves may have been at No. 2 doubles, where his team of senior Kristen Holloway and freshman Chelsea Benge dispatched Wawasee's Danielle Schmitt and Lauren Tait, 6-0, 6-0. Pilgrim junior Brittany Marquardt also advanced relatively easy, winning over Wawasee's Brooke Tait 6-1, 6-1. Sophomore Nicole Beguin had a couple hiccups at No. 3 singles, but prevailed over Warsaw's Nicole Sasso, 6-2, 6-4.
At Saturday's finals, each Plymouth girl, or girls, will have to win a semifinal before advancing to the finals. But with three No. 1 seeds, a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed, Haeck can foresee all of his girls earning all-conference honors by taking first in their respective groups.
"We have a chance to get everyone in the top seven, making them all all-conference, which would be an accomplishment for our team," Haeck said of a possible team of all-conference players, a first for a Plymouth girls squad.
"I think we have a real good chance to win all the spots, except No. 1 singles will be a little tougher," he added.
At No. 1 singles, Plymouth senior Carrie Edison, a 6-2, 6-0 winner of Concord's Andrea Moore last night, would likely run into Elkhart Memorial's Katelyn Grubb in the finals. In their previous match, on April 27 in Plymouth, Grubb defeated Edison 6-1, 6-3.
"Katelyn Grubb is just a really good player," Haeck said. "Carrie's got a lot of consistency. She can frustrate a lot of people based on working hard, getting to groundballs, keeping the ball in play. Anything can happen, but she obviously has to get to the finals first."
And Haeck is just as comfortable that Edison will reach the finals, as he is that the rest of his team will do the same.
"We need to be playing our best tennis right now," he said. "The conference tournament is real important."
• NLC PRELIMS
At Plymouth
Plymouth Results
Singles: 1. Carrie Edison (P, 3-seed) def. Andrea Moore (Concord) 6-2, 6-0; 2. Brittany Marquardt (P, 1-seed) def. Brooke Tait (Wawasee) 6-1, 6-1; 3. Nicole Beguin (P, 2-seed) def. Erica Sasso (Warsaw) 6-2, 6-4.
Doubles: 1. Heidi Keiser-Carly Plumlee (P, 1-seed) def. Mackenzie Pletcher-Alyssa Hettinger (Northridge) 6-3, 6-4; 2. Kristen Holloway-Chelsea Benge (P, 1-seed) def. Danielle Schmitt-Lauren Tait (Wawasee) 6-0, 6-0.
Next Match: Finals on Saturday at NorthWood High School, 9 a.m.