The Doings Weekly

Kern, Ladd asked to repeat Hinsdale South rebuilding plan

 

BY BRENDAN BOND | Contributor | @bbond32 February 19, 2013 5:44PM

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Darien Thursday 11.15.12. Hinsdale Central's Maddie Roglich (left) blocks the shot of Hinsdale South's MacKenzie Kern (54) during their game on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, in Darien. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media

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Don’t Miss

Friday

Boys swimming: State meet, 3:30 p.m.

Gunnar Wagner in the 50-yard freestyle and Jason Yang in the 100 backstroke are the top individuals competing in the preliminaries at New Trier. Wagner, a senior, has the best chance of advancing to Saturday’s finals. Hinsdale South also qualifyied in the 200 free and 400 free relays.

Monday

Boys basketball: at Oswego East Regional quarterfinal, 6 p.m.

The 19th-seeded Hornets (7-17) didn’t receive any favors from the IHSA when they were shipped to Oswego East to play the 14th-seeded Wolves (12-13) in their playoff opener. The winner advances to play third-seeded Neuqua Valley (25-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinal. The Hornets have won only four games since December.

Updated: March 22, 2013 7:07AM

The season ended in the first round of the Chicago Little Village Regional, denying a chance to take on state powerhouse Whitney Young.

But the Hinsdale South girls basketball team still had a unexpectedly successful season.

Last season, the Hornets made it to the regional championship after winning the West Suburban Gold crown, then graduated four starters. Head coach Jen Belmonte returned one starter, senior guard Toni Romiti, and two classmates, forwards Kristin Dimitrijevic and Kerry Just.

“At the beginning of the season, a lot of people didn’t think we could win conference for a second time,” Just said. “People doubted us. We began turning a lot of heads.”

They turned heads all the way to a 17-9 overall record and an 11-1 mark in the WSC Gold that netted a second consecutive championship.

“We started slow at the beginning of the season,” Belmonte said, “but the defense improved during the season and after the new year, we went 10-0 before losing the last two games.”

The final game was a 59-45 loss to North Lawndale Charter that ended the Hornets’ season.

“We played a tough opponent that not many people in the suburbs have heard of,” Belmonte said. “They’re a good team and I feel like we were both seeded too low, but it’s hard to win when you shoot just 24 percent overall.”

Hinsdale South’s season was bookended by rough stretches. The team opened the campaign in November by dropping all three games in its tournament. They also went 1-3 at the Montini tournament over Christmas. But in between those hiccups, the team won 16 of 17.

Junior guards Mackenzie Kern and Mary Claire Ladd are two starters Belmonte has tagged to carry the torch next year as senior leaders. It’s a plan that has worked before.

“We’re kind of used to having to replace players and we don’t have much height coming back,” Belmonte said. “But we do have a lot of fast and athletic guards coming back.”

The graduation of Romiti and her output hurts most. Just, however, feels that the team will be fine with the leadership they will have next season.

“Mary Claire and Mackenzie are ready to step up to the plate,” Just said.

“We just have to treat the underclassmen the same way we were treated,” Kern said of how she and Ladd planned to lead.

Freshmen Sydney Kopp and Tatyana Presley saw significant time on varsity this past season. But Belmonte knows it will still be tough.

“We’ve set the bar really high,” she said. “Three years in a row is tough but we’re going for it.”




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