Varsity Wednesday, September 4th @ St Francis (Varsity wins 4-3) Varsity had a close match against St. Francis! Chloe and Addy dominated quickly at 1 and 2 singles. Hailey and Teodora played in tandem to also dominate at 1 singles. Ava and Caitlyn at 2 doubles and AnnMarie and Lola at 4 doubles played well, but in the end couldn’t take the win. Ava and Maya at 3 doubles played a tight match that led to a nailbiter of a 3rd set super tiebreaker where they lost 10-7. At this point, the Hornets were tied 3-3. It came down to Monika in her debut singles match at 3rd singles… and she dominated! It was a great team bonding event to watch our players stay positive and cheer each other on for a great team victory!
Thursday, September 5th vs. Timothy Christian (Varsity wins 5-2) Our last match before our conference duals begins and we decided to completely spice up our lineup! Addy won at 1 singles against a tough senior where she showed grit and mental toughness in her match. Ava and AnnMarie took the 2 and 3 singles spots and played extremely competitive singles matches. While they didn’t get the wins, they both adapted to the singles mindset quickly and fought hard. The Goins sisters (Chloe and Hailey) quickly took over their 1 doubles match where they played confidently. Caitlyn and Teodora, Ava and Monika, and Maya and Lola all played 2, 3, and 4 doubles respectively, and also defeated their opponents. All of our doubles teams were mismatched today and they were able to get into a groove and feed off of each other. The team had great camaraderie and showed a 5-2 victorious success! JV Wednesday, September 4th vs. St. Francis JV hosted their first home dual against St. Francis. At 1st and 2nd singles, Ivona and Teona put up a fight but were only able to secure 1 game total and lost their match. Sofia played her first singles game ever at 3rd singles and ultimately lost, but learned so much about playing alone on the court and her willingness to play both singles and doubles should be looked up to. In the doubles area, Uyen and Miley played a tough first set at 1st doubles and won 7-5. They played on to win their second set as well to secure the only win against this school. Paulina and Marianna won 4 games of their first set at 2nd doubles, but couldn’t secure the match win. Shivani and Maddie played hard at 3rd doubles but ultimately lost. Lastly, Cesilie and Alex played 4th doubles and didn’t secure the win.
Thursday, September 5th @ Timothy Christian This was our first time traveling to TC and we played 8 different doubles games overall. The girls had a great time playing with different partners and secured 3 total wins in 8 game pro sets. Ivona and Miley secured a close win of 8-6 at 3 doubles and Uyen and Teona secured a win of 8-0 at 1 doubles. All doubles teams had a fun day of learning how to play with their teammates on the court!
Saturday, September 7th - Hornet Quad The JV team played their second quad of the season and ended up 2nd place overall. Our first dual against Naz ended with us securing all wins across the board. Each of the 4 doubles teams won in the 1st two sets. Uyen and Paulina played for the first time together this season at 1 doubles and won 6-3 and 7-5. Geneva was our hardest opponent and we were unable to secure a win. However, Uyen and Marianna played a tough 3 sets and lost 7-10 in the super tiebreaker. Shivani and Paulina also had a tough loss with the first set being 6-7 and the second being 3-6. Waubonsie Valley was our last duel to play and we also went 4-0 against them. Ivona and Maddy won in the super tie breaker for the 3rd set and Sophia and Shivani won their match at 4 doubles in 2 sets. What a great day for hornet tennis!
Week of August 26th
Varsity Wednesday, August 28th vs. Hinsdale Central Varsity loses 5-2 Cross town Hinsdale Rivalry! Chloe had a nail biter of a match! She dominated the first set 6-2 and her opponent fought back taking the second set 6-4. The match came down to a super tiebreaker that Chloe ended up winning 10-5. Chloe stayed focused and showed great adversity and strength in her game play.
Addy’s first high school match with a tight 6-3, 6-4 win at 2 singles! Addy stayed strong and fought the entire match. Hailey and Teodora had a great first set, only losing 1 break. But Central stepped up their game a notch and we tried our best to adjust, but in the end, we lost 6-3, 6-0.
Our 3rd singles player Monika and other doubles teams of Caitlyn and Ava, Ava and Maya and AnneMarie and Lola stayed positive their entire matches. They had some tough competition and we continued to play our hardest.
Saturday, August 31st @ Jacobs Invite Jacobs 16 Team Flighted Invite 1S: Addy had 2 quick first dominating rounds to meet Waubonsie Valley in the semi finals. This was an extremely emotional match, with both girls playing hard and staying aggressive. Addy showed tremendous strength in being able to change up her game as needed to account for the wind and her opponents' game. Addy lost in the super tie breaker, but she showed maturity in her emotional game. Addy ended up winning 3rd place in straight sets against a solid Dunlap player. She had to fight through her exhaustion, but she stepped up and got the job done.
2S: Teodora was in the spotlight today! She finished 1st for her first Hornet singles debut! She had 2 dominating first rounds, followed by a captivating semi final win. Eventually, she won the finals (up 4-0 and her opponent defaulted due to heat exhaustion.) Teodora was calm and cool and her game was relaxed and focused. She had an outstanding tournament!
1D of Caitlyn and Ava and and 2D of Ava and Monika each went 1-2 at todays tournament. Both teams moved up from their normal position of play and they had tough first rounds against seeded teams. They each won their second round pretty handedly and both lost in the 3rd round of the back draw. They had to adjust their games to play at a different level than they’ve been playing at and they showed great determination to play the best they could.
JV Wednesday, August 28th @ Minooka The Hornets traveled to Minooka for the first JV away match of the season, and it featured close matches up and down the roster, with 3 out of the 5 matches going to 3rd set Super Tiebreakers! Ivanna played a tough match at the 1 singles position, fighting back from a close first set loss to win her match with a decisive 4-6, 6-0, 10-5 score line. Paulina and Marianna were victorious in the Maddy and Shivani also had a close match at 3rd doubles, losing the first set as well before winning the second set in a tiebreaker before eventually losing the 3rd 14-16 in the 10 point breaker. The Hornets lost the meeting overall 2-5 to Minooka.
Saturday, August 31st @ Lake Park Quad The Lake Park Quad featured Benet, Lake Park, and Lockport where all 4 schools played against each other. The Hornets played a tough series of matches against the other schools but stayed positive in their first weekend event of the season. All of the matches were 8 game pro sets with no ad. During the match up with Lake Park, Teona and Uyen played doubles together for the first time and went on to win at the 1st doubles spot 8-4 after being down 1-4! An excellent comeback for a first outing as a doubles team! Ivanna at the 1 singles spot won in another tight tiebreaker, working hard for every point! In the Lockport matchup, though it was an overall loss, Teona put up an awesome fight at the 1st singles position, losing in a tight 5-8. A great showing for the girls in a tough collection of teams, it will certainly be a springboard for the team going forward into the rest of the season!
Week of August 19th
Varisty Thursday, August 22nd vs. University High Chicago Our season opener against the reigning 2023 State Champions! Varsity lost 0-6. Chloe at 1 singles took on Paola, who finished 2nd at state last year. It was a back and forth match, testing both girls' physical and mental games. They each took a set which left the 3rd set super tiebreaker to be the determining factor. Paola won 11-9 in a heartbreaking back and forth match between the rivalries.
AnnMarie at 2 singles played her first Varsity match and while it didn’t go her way, she came off the court with a smile and a determination to continue to practice her game.
At 1 doubles, Hailey and Teodora had a rough start in the first set. This was their first time playing as a doubles team and Teodora’s first Varsity high school match, so there were many nerves and unforced errors that quickly needed to be adjusted. They did just that in the 2nd set. The girls may have lost the match, but they learned to play together and they will be a powerhouse this season.
At both 2 and 3 doubles, Ava and Caitlyn and Maya and Ava were also playing for the first time as doubles team. Both teams had rough first sets, but were able to regroup and fight as hard as they could in the 2nd sets. This was a tough match to kick off the season, but I know this will set the tone for the girls hard work and determination for the rest of the season!
Saturday, August 24th @ Charger Invite in Champaign Varsity finished 4th out of 16! 1 Doubles: Hailey and Teodora came to play today! They took down their first round opponent Urbana, lost in the next round to a tough Teutopolis team, and then continued to take wins from Dunlap (a top 8 finisher at state last year) and O’Fallon to finish the tournament off in 5th place. They were a force to be reckoned with! They played with consistency and brains, forcing their opponents to be all over the courts. Hailey was dominating play at the baseline and Teodora was finishing points at the net - exactly how a doubles team should set each other up.
2 Singles: AnnMarie stepped up to play 2 singles (knowing she’ll be playing 3 singles this season.) She had a first round win against Urbana, took a loss against a crafty Lincoln Way West, followed by a win against Belleville West, and then lost the ⅚ place match to a tough Danville girl. She finished 6th place, and for her first Varsity tournament, this was an amazing feat! She had positive energy throughout the day.
1 Singles: Chloe was determined today. She had 2 quick wins against St. Joseph and Belleville West. She was tested in round 3 with Conant, when the Conant girl stepped up her game in the 2nd set, which led to a 3rd set super tiebreaker. Chloe showed great mental focus to eventually win the match. In the finals, she played Dunlap, a freshman who came to play. Chloe was down 1-4 in the first set, but turned on her fight and eventually won the match 6-4, 6-3. She kept her composure and made small adjustments to her game throughout the match to ensure that she finished with a 1st place finish.
2 Doubles: Caitlyn and Ava had a nice first round win against Belleville East. They then lost the next two rounds to Teutopolis and Belleville West. They finished in the ⅞ spot. Both girls had positive attitudes throughout the entire tournament and while they are still learning to play doubles together, they communicated and adjusted well on the court.
JV Thursday, August 22nd vs. University High Chicago This was a tough, but great first opener for JV this year against University High Chicago. We played 8 game pro sets across all singles and doubles and secured our first win of the season at 2 singles. Teona, a freshman this year, played a tough match but followed through to win 8-6. Ivanna played a tough match at 1st singles and lost, but it was a feat nonetheless because this was her first tennis match ever and she played hard the entire time.
In doubles, at number 1 we had Uyen and Miley who worked hard and won a few games but couldn’t close out the set. Number 2-5 doubles also showed great teamwork and promise for our first match. Paulina and Marianna played 2 doubles and never fought hard until the end, and Maddie and Shivani played well together at 3 doubles and even won a few games of the set. Alex and Zara worked hard at 4 doubles and Cesilie and Sofia played their first match ever at 5 doubles and we are excited to see how their play improves throughout the season!