When the IHSA girls state tennis tournament hits Chicagoland courts this week, the Little Illini Conference will be well represented after a strong showing at area Sectional tournaments. The LIC qualified four singles players (including one Sectional champion) and one doubles tandem.

Each sectional sends its top four in singles and doubles to the State Final. The Class 1A girls tennis State Final field has 64 singles players and 64 doubles teams from 75 schools and 16 sectionals. Play opens Thursday, Oct. 23 at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. All six tennis-playing LIC schools are in Class 1A in the state series.

Paedyn Keys of Paris won the singles championship at the Champaign Centennial Sectional with four consecutive straight-set wins, though she needed a little extra time to defeat Catherine Ra of Champaign St. Thomas More, 6-1, 7-5, in the finals. She is the first Lady Tiger to win a Sectional crown since Allie Bayless in 2010. Paris’ other singles entry, Lexi Crippes, also qualified for state with a fourth-place finish.

Olivia Sornberger of Newton, who won the LIC singles crown on Oct. 9, finished second at the Sectional in Olney, falling to Abbie Lee of Teutopolis, 6-1, 6-2, in the finals. Daisy Mumford of Casey-Westfield, who lost to Lee in the semifinal, fell to another T-town standout, Raegan Zerrusen, 6-2, 6-4, in the third-place match.

The Mt. Carmel doubles tandem of Hazel Earnest and Alivia Peach, champions at the LIC tournament, advanced to state with a second-place finish at Olney, losing to Avery Probst and Cecilia Donsbach of Teutopolis, 6-4, 6-1, in the championship match. They also had to battle beck to win a semifinal match against Nora Trupiano and Avery Jones of Effingham St. Anthony. After losing the first set, 6-3, the Earnest/Peach combo bounced back to win the match with 6-3, 6-2 wins in the next two sets.

Paris finished second in the final team standings at Champaign, scoring 20 points to champion Danville’s 21. At Olney, Teutopolis prevailed with 29 points. Robinson and Newton finished in a third-place tie with 12 points each. Mt. Carmel took sixth with 10 points, followed by Casey-Westfield (tied for seventh with six points) and Olney (eighth with two points).

SECTIONAL SUMMARY
CLASS 1A

at Olney
Team Standings: 1. Teutopolis 29, 2. Effingham (St. Anthony) 16, T3. Robinson 12, T3. Newton 12, 5. Mattoon 11, 6. Mt. Carmel 10, T7. Effingham (H.S.) 6, T7. Casey-Westfield 6, 9. Charleston 4, 10. Olney 2.

State Qualifiers (from the LIC)
Singles:
2nd Olivia Sornberger, Newton
Round 1 · Bye
Round 2 · def. Isabella Lucier (Mattoon) 6-1, 6-2
Quarterfinals · def. Bella Schultz (Effingham (St. Anthony) 6-0, 6-0
Semifinals · def. Raegan Zerrusen (Teutopolis) 6-1, 6-3
Final · lost to Abbie Lee (Teutopolis) 6-1, 6-2

4th Daisy Mumford, Casey-Westfield
Round 1 · Bye
Round 2 · def. Ivy Daiber (Effingham (St. Anthony)) 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals · def. Charlie Poorman (Mattoon) 6-2, 6-1
Semifinals · lost to Abbie Lee (Teutopolis) 6-0, 6-2
Third-place match · lost to Raegan Zerrusen (Teutopolis) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles:
2nd Hazel Earnest/Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel
Round 1 · Bye
Round 2 · def. Ella Whitacre / Gracie Taylor (Casey-Westfield) 6-2, 6-1
Quarterfinals · def. Beth Broscious / Scarlett Collins (Newton) 6-1, 6-1
Semifinals · def. Nora Trupiano / Avery Jones (Effingham (St. Anthony) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Final · lost to  Avery Probst / Cecilia Donsbach (Teutopolis) 6-4, 6-1

at Champaign Centennial
Team Standings: 1. Danville (H.S.) 21, 2. Paris 20, 3. Mahomet (M.-Seymour) 16, 4. Champaign (Centennial) 15, T5. Urbana (H.S.) 8, T5. St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) 8, T5. Champaign (St. Thomas More) 8, T8. Danville (Schlarman) 0. T8. Gibson City (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) 0, T8. Watseka 0.

State Qualifiers (from the LIC)
Singles:
1st Paedyn Keys, Paris
Round 1 · Bye
Round 2 · def. Shelby Warns  St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals · def. Ananyah Tangmunarunkit (Urbana) 6-0, 6-0
Semifinals · def. Lydia Mourer (Danville) 6-2, 6-0
Final · def. Catherine Ra (Champaign St. Thomas More) 6-1, 7-5

4th Lexi Crippes, Paris
Round 1 · Bye
Round 2 · def. Mareli Ocampo (Danville) 6-2, 6-3
Quarterfinals · def. Anyssa Tangmunarunkit (Urbana) 6-4, 6-1
Semifinals · lost to Catherine Ra (Champaign St. Thomas More) 7-6(3), 6-4
Third-place match · lost to Lydia Mourer (Danville) 6-2, 6-4