The girls tennis team took second place in the Heather Bradshaw Invite held at EHS this past weekend competing against 32 teams.

The team competed a best of five matches in a round robin style play with two singles players and three doubles teams. The Tigers went 4-1, which earned them a second place finish to New Trier.

The tournament started on Friday where the girls played Incarnate Word Academy and won 4-1 in match play.

“Friday was a little tight for me but I relaxed and became more comfortable as the weekend went on,” senior Callaghan Adams said. Adams and junior Morgan Colbert are the only two returning varsity players from the state line up last season.

Adams and junior Mackenzie Cadigan competed as the singles players for the team. Along with Colbert, junior Grace Desse, freshman Abbie Cimarolli, senior Grace Harmen, junior Annie McGinnis, and freshman Maria Mezo. All played as the three doubles teams.

After beating Incarnate Word Academy, the Tigers faced their next opponent, Carbondale. The girls swept Carbondale, going 5-0 in the match to end the first day of play.
The following day the Tigers played New Trier, who brought two teams down for the tournament.

“They’re always a top contender at the state competition,” Adams said. “They usually get top spot or second.”

“We played some tough teams and had success so it was a good weekend,” junior Morgan Colbert said. “There are things we still need to work on but I like where we are at in this point in the season.”

The girls beat the second New Trier team four to one but lost in the final game against the first New Trier team, 1-4. Adams was the only player to beat her opponent during that round and go undefeated throughout the whole invite.

“I think we played well,” junior Morgan Colbert said. “We lost to one of the best teams so I’m proud of second place.”

The Heather Bradshaw Invite is a memorial tournament for an assistant coach who passed away in a car accident in 2005. Mrs. Bradshaw was the assistant girls tennis coach from 2003 until 2005. There was a plaque put in at the EHS tennis courts to commemorate Mrs. Bradshaw and her work with the Tigers.

“I think playing in the tournament is a great way to show our respect for Heather,” Adams said.