Varsity 9/30 vs. Addison Trail (Varsity won 7-0; conference Record 5-1) Varsity sweep! EVERY player did exactly as they were supposed to: singles players stayed controlled and focused and our doubles teams worked collaboratively to win every match on the court. Huge shout out to Lola and AnnMarie for finding their groove and winning a big conference matchup!
10/03 vs. Metea Valley (Varsity lost 3-4) Senior Night! Addy and Teodora stepped up to play 1 and 2 singles respectively, dominating both of their matches. This was the best singles I have seen both of them play - they didn’t allow their opponents to get into a rhythm and they finished points at the right time. Chloe and Hailey played a competitive doubles match and were fighting against darkness. We had about 10 minutes left before we would have to call the match, but they stepped up and finished their match in a close 7-5 tiebreaker to take the 2nd set and win.
We celebrated all 10 of our seniors tonight: Chloe, Caitlyn, Ava, Ava, Maya, Lola, AnnMarie, Uyen, Marianna and Gabby. We are grateful for their commitment to the program and their leadership to our younger teammates. We wish them luck in their next journey!
10/04 & 10/05 @ Lincoln Way West Tournament (Varsity CHAMPS 5-0) Friday night kicked off the big Lincoln Way West Tournament - the best of 5 matches wins to move onto the next round. We started with Lockport - Chloe and Hailey and Teodora immediately put us in a 2-0 spot. Monika stepped up to play 2 singles this round and won in a tough 8-7 match. Caitlyn and AC were even at the beginning, but took charge and won in the end. We won 4-1 as a team moving to the next round.
Homewood Flossmoor was next. Both Chloe and Addy handedly won their singles matches. Hailey and Teodora followed, leading our team to 3-0. Caitlyn and Ava took a tough 5-8 loss to a very competitive team. Ava and Maya had to call their match due to darkness, but they were up and we’re counting that as a ‘win’. Hornets move on with a 3-1 win.
Next round we took on Bolingbrook with a 4-1 win. Shout out to Maya and Ava for fighting a very tight match and winning 7-5, 6-3, only 1 break a set. Lola and AnnMarie fought against the wind and their match went back and forth, eventually leading to a loss of 5-7, 5-7. They played a fantastic and competitive doubles match!
Semi final round against Minooka. Chloe takes the 1st singles spot and Addy and Teodora take the 1st doubles spot. Both our 2 and 3 doubles unfortunately lose and we are tied 2-2. Ava Chamberlain is playing the deciding match at 2 singles. She lost the first set, but learns to adjust her game to the wind and to beat her opponent to take the second set. She wins in a 10-2 super tiebreaker to take us to the championship round!
Championship round against big time Lincoln Way West. Addy and Teodora win both of their singles matches and Maya/Ava and Lola/AnnMarie fight, but couldn’t take the win, leading our team score to 2-2. Chloe and Ava won the first set 6-0 at 1 doubles. The second set is a close one (2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-4), but Chloe and Ava step up to win 6-4, making the Hornets the Champions!
JV 9/30 vs. Addison Trail (JV won 7-0) This is our conference sweep. Every teammate brought their A game this day. Sofia and Alex won their first conference match this day at 4 doubles! Every player played well and we couldn’t be more proud as coaches.
10/03 vs. Metea Valley (JV lost 1-7) Junior varsity lost 1-7 today. We have our number two doubles dominate their 8 game pro set and won 8-3. This was Uyen and Miley and they have only grown as players this year and we can’t wait to see how they play in conference! Ivanna, Teona, and Gabi played well at singles but couldn’t bring home the win. Sofia and Alex, Shivani and Maddie, and Marianna and Paulina played extremely well at their respective doubles positions as well.
Week of September 23rd
Varsity 9/26 vs. Leyden (Varsity won 6-1, Conference Record 4-1) Chloe, Addy and Monika all dominated at singles. Hailey/Teodora and Ava/Maya competed fiercely at 1 and 3 doubles respectively. AC/Caitlyn had a really tough first set, but pulled it out in the end in a tiebreaker and then took the 2nd set pretty handedly. Lola and and AnnMarie had an extremely competitive match, but in the end did not take the win. Our players are showing fantastic sportsmanship and work ethics on the court. We are exemplifying what it means to be a Hornet - we are playing hard, but appreciative of every opponent we meet.
JV 9/26 vs. Leyden (JV won 6-1) JV played one conference match this week due to rain when the Addison Trail match would have occurred. After good days of practice, the Hornets came out with a tough match against Leyden. Number 1 doubles Uyen and Miley played incredibly strong from start to finish to come away with the first win of the day. Ivanna and Teona (number 1 and number 2 singles respectfully) also came away with strong showings, winning with identical scores! Gaby had a bit of a battle at the number 3 singles position, bringing it back to win in a match tiebreaker in dominant fashion! Marianna and Paulina showed strong perseverance in their 2nd doubles match, winning in straight sets after a rough start in the first set which they won in a tiebreaker. Maddy and Shivani lost another closer match tiebreaker after battling back into the match (11-13, as close as it can get!). Alex and Sophia also had to battle back after a tough second set but won the match tiebreaker with a strong 10-7 victory! Cesilie came away with a strong showing in her first singles matchup of the season, playing hard in both sets she played in!
Week of September 16th
Varsity 9/17 vs. Willbrook (Varsity won 6-1, Conference 2-1) Varsity made a showing today! We had dominating singles wins from Chloe, Addy and Monika. Chloe and Addy didn’t drop a game! Teodora and Hailey at 1 doubles also did not drop a game! Ava and Caitlyn found their groove and were able to get ahead early on and win their match. Maya and Ava and Lola and AnnMarie both played competitive teams and both matches were close. Maya and Ava were able to overpower their opponents at the net and win their match. Lola and AnnMarie had a tough first set, but played extremely hard in the second set to try to come back. Overall, this was a solid victory over Willowbrook, making us 2-1 in conference.
9/19 vs. Morton (Varsity won 7-0, Conference 3-1) After an hour and 15 minute bus ride to Morton, our girls were ready to make a statement. And boy did we! Our girls swept Morton across the board. Lola and AnnMarie had their first victory at doubles tonight! Chloe, Addy and Hailey and Teodora did not drop a game. Ava and Caitlyn and Maya and Ava also played with great confidence. It came down to Monika as the last match to fight for our team sweep and she pulled through in a nail biting 10-7 super tiebreaker for the 3rd set! Our girls showed tremendous camaraderie and grit to fight against Morton tonight. We are now 3-1 in conference.
9/21 @ Dunlap Invite 8 Team Flighted Tournament 1 Singles: Chloe, in Chloe fashion, lost 3 games total in the entire tournament. She confidently finished 1st place, but showed phenomenal sportsmanship for every opponent she had today. 2 Singles: Addy did not lose a game in the first 2 rounds of play today. She was in the finals, up a set 6-0 and up 3-2 in the second set before the rain started. She was in a competitive match against Dunlap that we did not get to finish, but in our teams mind, she won 1st place. 1 Doubles: Teodora and Hailey really clicked today! They fed off each others energy, they talked through strategy and they showed a great amount of perseverance on the court today. They were also playing in the finals against a solid Richwoods team, up 5-3, before the rain started. In our teams mind, they definitely won 1st place, especially after how much growth I saw today! 2 Doubles: Caitlyn and Ava finally had their breakthrough! They’ve had their ups and downs all season, but locked in today to finish 3rd overall. They worked together well - they were able to show great spacing on the court and great communication on the court. The Hornets made a statement today!
JV 9/17 vs. Willowbrook (JV won 4-3) JV won their second conference of the season against our rival WB. Ivanna put up a tough fight at 1st singles, but lost. Teona won her match at 2nd singles in an impressive first 2 sets and Gabby won her 3rd singles match in a super tie breaker!
Doubles had a win at both 1st doubles and 3rd doubles. Miley and Marianna played well at 1 and won 6-2 and 6-0. Alex and Shivani won in a super tiebreaker at 3rd doubles. Paulina and Maddie lost in a set breaker and Cecilie and Sofia played hard but lost at 4th doubles.
9/19 vs. Morton (JV lost 3-4) Ivanna played a tough match at 1st singles and lost in the first two sets, but she showed tremendous perseverance. Teona played 2nd singles and won in the first 2 sets! Lastly, Gabby played 3rd singles and won in a super tie breaker. She showed us what it’s like to never give up and give it your all.
Our 1st doubles today was Marianna and Miley. They won the first set 6-2 and played hard to win the 2nd set 6-0. 2nd doubles was Paulina and Maddie and they lost 2-6 and then 6-7, but fought hard in the set breaker and worked well as a team. Shivani and Alex played 3rd doubles and won in a super tie breaker! They stayed strong and finished on a high note. Cecilie and Sofiya won a few games at 4th doubles, but couldn’t bring home the overall match win.
9/21 @ Jacob's Invite JV competed in their first invite today at Jacob’s HS. We traveled to compete at Crystal Lake South and competed against them first. Our team won 3-2 with wins at 1st doubles with Uyen and Miley, 2nd Doubles with Paulina and Marianna and 1st singles with Ivanna. Gabby fought hard and lost at a tie breaker at 2nd singles and Shivani and Maddie lost at 3rd doubles but played extremely well with each other.
Our second match proved to be tougher and we lost against Cary Grove. We didn’t win any matches here, but the team stayed positive and showed tremendous growth. Uyen played 1st singles this round and almost went to a tie breaker and Paulina and Maddie played a tough match at 2nd doubles and almost won the second set. Alex played 2nd singles this match and showed so much growth from the beginning of the season. Cecilie and Sofia won a few games at 3rd doubles but couldn’t bring home the win.
Our third match of the day was against Wheaton Academy and 1 doubles dominated and won 8-1. Uyen and Miley have shown us amazing doubles play throughout the season and this may have been one of their best matches yet. Ivanna and Gabby played tough singles matches this round and Alex/Shivani and Cecilie and Sofiya played great doubles at the 2nd and 3rd position.
Week of September 9th
Varsity 9/10/24 vs. Proviso East (Varsity won 7-0;Conference 1-0) We have the most amazing players. Proviso East has a completely new-to-tennis team and our Hornets were leaders on the courts. They were showing our opponents how to play and explaining to our opponents the rules of the game. It was not about winning this match - it was about sharing our knowledge with our peers and we held ourselves to an extremely high standard. I am so proud of the leadership role that our girls took on in todays match.
9/11/24 vs. Nazareth (Varisty won 3-2) Chloe and Addy handled singles pretty well - both dominating their matches right from the beginning to stay ahead for the rest of their matches. Hailey and Teodora also took (and kept!) charge of their doubles match. Ava and Caitlyn only lost their match by one break for each set; both teams were very evenly matched. Ava and Maya had a tough first set and fought back in the second, but couldn’t finish. This was a great set up for the Hornets for the post season.
9/12/24 vs. Downers Grove South (Varsity lost 5-2; Conference 1-1) Chloe and Addy had our 2 first wins of the night - really showing our conference opponents how tough we are. Monika at 3 doubles held tight for most of her match, but couldn’t close it out. All 4 of our doubles matches had close matches as well. Hailey and Teodora at 1 and Ava and Maya at 3 all competed their hardest and to the end, but couldn’t close out the final matches. With such close matches, I know that the conference tournament will be competitive and our girls are out for redemption!
JV 9/11 vs. Nazareth Academy (JV won 4-3) JV Tennis hosted Nazareth Academy and came out in dominant fashion across most positions during the match. Shivani and Maddy showed impressive resolve and fight in their match at the 3rd doubles position, coming back after losing the first set to win the next set and the tiebreaker 10-8. This was the deciding match on who would win the meet as both teams were tied with 3 wins each! The Hornets would win this match 4-3, a great bit of match practice before starting matches this week!
9/12 vs. Downers Grove South (JV lost 1-6) Downers Grove South came to the Hornets home courts for a Conference season opener, and though the team ended up losing overall the Hornets played and fought well at all positions! Marianna and Miley played a strong 1 doubles team, coming back to lose 7-10 in a 3rd set match tiebreaker with all kinds of twists and turns. Teona also came close to winning at the second singles spot, losing 4-10 in the deciding tiebreaker after coming back and winning the second set. Gabriella Phelps came through with a strong showing at the number 3 singles position, bringing home the lone win for the Hornets in this 1-6 loss at home.
9/14 @ West Aurora Triangular JV tennis traveled to West Aurora high school to compete in a triangular against Minooka and North Aurora. The Hornets played North Aurora first and came away with a 4-1 victory over the hosting school, with some stellar doubles play seen from 1st doubles Uyen Millon and Miley Zhang, who won in a tiebreaker!
The girls would go on to play a tough match against Minooka shortly after. Marianna and Paulina headed up the 2nd doubles position and lost a close set 5-8 after storming back from a 1-4 deficit. Teona displayed impressive skills and resilience in a nailbiter of a loss at 2nd singles, losing in a match tiebreak with a score of 6-10. Number 1 doubles players Miley and Uyen went from one close match to another as they would go on to have the lone victory against Minooka, winning in a tiebreaker 13-11 (close at it gets!). Their victory was especially great as they were not only the last match on, but also were trailing in the regular set 3-6 before fighting back hard to win the tiebreaker. Well done Hornets for a strong week!
Week of September 2nd
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!