Chatham Glenwood's Ellie Surges won her first ever sectional title, plus see other girls tennis state qualifiers around Springfield.
The Central State Eight Conference qualified eight players to the Illinois High School Association Class 1A girls state tennis finals.
And it was CS8 champion Chatham Glenwood that advanced four players and won the Mount Zion Sectional with 28 points on Oct. 17. The two-day tournament was moved to Thursday and Friday due to forecasted storms on Saturday, and the top four placers in both singles and doubles qualify.
Glenwood senior Ellie Surges held her No. 1 singles seed and defeated second seed Ella Sandgren of Maroa-Forsyth 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1 in the championship match to win her first sectional. It was Surges’ third victory over Sandgren this season. She defeated fourth seed Paityn Koester of Mount Zion 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Surges qualified for state in Class 2A the last two seasons, and she heads into the 1A tournament with 13 straight wins.
Joining Surges in singles at state will be senior teammate, Lydia Ryherd. Ryherd, seeded third, won her quarterfinal match over Mount Zion’s Gadiel Velasco 6-4, 7-6 (4). She lost to Sandgren 6-1, 6-2 in the semis and finished fourth after a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Koester.
Ryherd said she’s previously been to state as a spectator, but it will be her first trip as a competitor.
Glenwood doubles earning their stripes
After winning the CS8 doubles title on Oct. 11, Olivia Hallberg and Sanvi Modi continued their sensational freshman season with a second place showing at the sectional.
The second-seeded team defeated Jacksonville’s Norah Alexander and Malin Camerer 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then beat Sacred Heart-Griffin's Lucia Hassebrock and Catalina Mosquera 6-0, 6-4 in the semis.
It took the top-seeded team of Katherine Nilles and Alex Nilles of Maroa-Forsyth to defeat Hallberg and Modi 6-4, 6-3 in the championship match.
Glenwood coach Sonthana Thongsithavong had a lengthy conversation on Hallberg and Modi after they won the CS8 tournament.
“I know what they’re capable of on the court, but the biggest thing was can they – being freshmen – play against juniors and seniors?” Thongsithavong said. “Can they play the game?”
So far, his youngsters have answered some of those questions with wins, including a trip to state.
SHG duo steps up. . . again
It’s not the first time that Hassebrock and Mosquera have shown what they’re capable of.
Last season, as a fifth seed, the doubles team found a way to place fourth at the Jacksonville Sectional to reach state. This time, they edged Springfield High’s Valentina Osgood and Madisyn Williams 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals to earn a return trip to the Chicago suburbs.
It was the second straight weekend that SHG had beaten the Springfield team after recording a 7-5, 6-1 win over Osgood and Williams for fifth place at the CS8 meet.
After their semifinal loss to Hallberg and Modi, Hassebrock and Mosquera also avenged their three-set loss in the CS8 tournament to Jacksonville’s Leah Range and Abby White when they posted a 6-0, 7-5 sectional win in the third-place match.
Hassebrock and Mosquera finished 1-2 at the 1A state meet last season.
Crimsons break through
It’s been a long time coming and now the wait is over.
The Jacksonville doubles team of Range and White snapped a 10-year team drought when the duo finished fourth to reach the state tournament. Graduate Lucy Deal was the last Crimsons player to go to state in 2015, finishing 1-2 in the singles draw in what was a one-class system.
Range and White, who also placed fourth in doubles at this month’s CS8 tournament, qualified for state when they defeated Glenwood’s Stella Lopp and Kylinn Wood 6-1, 6-2 in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Range and White lost their semifinal match to the Nilles’ 6-1, 6-0 in the semis, and settled for fourth after their defeat to Hassebrock and Mosquera.
As a team, Jacksonville finished third with 14 points, four points shy of second place Maroa-Forsyth (18). Springfield High had 12 points and SHG and Mount Zion tied with 11 apiece.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: See Springfield area girls tennis state qualifiers for 2025
Category: General Sports
