The girls tennis team earned its highest rank ever at state this past weekend, placing 5th with 14 points.

Edwardsville’s highest placement had previously been 7th in 2001, which they repeated in 2004, 2014 and 2015.

Senior Morgan Colbert and sophomore Grace Desse also broke a school record by earning 4th place as a doubles team. They are the first EHS tennis players to make it to state semifinals.

“It feels incredible to be up there with some of EHS’s top players,” Desse said.

Desse and Colbert fell to Hinsdale Central’s Erika Oku and Megan Guenther in the semifinals. Oku and Guenther went on to win the state tournament.

“Playing Chicago schools throughout the season gives us a high level of competition that is harder to find in southern Illinois,” Colbert said. “It forces us to raise our game and continue to improve in order to play at their level consistently.”

Seniors Maria Mezo and Mackenzie Cadagin accounted for EHS’s other doubles entry.

They’ve been partners all four high school years, and this is their second year playing together at state.

“We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Cadagin said. “We get into sync on the court.”

Cadagin and Mezo achieved a 2-2 record.

In order to advance to state, EHS won its conference with 3 victorious doubles matches and 5 of 6 singles, and proceeded to win its sectional tournament, despite having been placed in a new, more competitive sectional (pool/bracket).

In years past, there were only a couple Southwestern Conference teams in its sectional bracket, but this year IHSA organized tennis into a 2-class system. EHS competed in the Class 2A Belleville East sectional that included six other SWC schools: Alton, Belleville East, Belleville West, Collinsville, Granite City and O’fallon.

“It was more difficult because it was a higher level of competition with 2A,” sophomore Natalie Karibian said. Karibian was one of two EHS singles state entries; her record was 2-2.

Sophomore Abby Cimarolli also played singles with a record of 0-2.

“Playing at state will for sure help make me a better player,” Cimarolli said.

“I’ll practice harder and play more at a higher level of competition and mentally prepare myself for what the next year will bring.”