(Grayslake, IL.) - On Tuesday, September 3, Waubonsee Community College women's tennis players took to the courts in competition for the first time since 2021. Due to a variety of reasons, the Chiefs had not played in over 1,000 days. Waubonsee's last Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) match was Sept. 29, 2021, when they downed McHenry County College 7-2 at the Crystal Lake Racket Club in Algonquin. That year's team, guided then by head coach Warren Harris, played their final regular season match a few days later and then finished a distant third at the Region 4 Tournament on October 9, 2021 in south suburban Palos Hills.

Under the direction of first year head coach Kathleen Preston, the Chiefs opened their 2024 season by traveling to the College of Lake County to take on the Lancers in an ISCC match. The short-handed Chiefs, with just four players competing, fell 6-3 to Lake County. Still, Waubonsee's return to competitive tennis was considered a success. At number one singles Lexi Maberry engaged in a close battle with numerous games that could have gone either way, before the Lancers' Linnea Lindstrom rallied to win 6-3, 6-4. Waubonsee's Abby Grams outlasted Lake County's Victoria Rabinovich at number two singles in a tough two-hour clash taking it by a score of 7-5 and 6-4. Sophia Yurt followed suit in her number three singles match, showing pure grit and determination in another nearly two-hour long battle. After trailing 2-5 in the first set, Yurt came back to win 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 over Arlene Pierce.

However, the Chiefs' Monet Lopez dropped her number four singles match to Danielle Gatta 6-3, 6-1. Waubonsee had to default at number five and number six singles, along with the number three doubles match. In doubles play the tandem of Maberry and Grams downed the pairing of Lindstrom and Pierce 8-4 at number one doubles. The duo of Yurt and Lopez then fell 8-4 in their number two doubles match to Rabinovich and Araceli Guadarrama. Waubonsee is set to play again on Tuesday, September 10 when they travel to Elgin Community College for a 2:45 p.m. match with the Spartans.