The only two members of the girls tennis team with prior state tournament experience in doubles came into the season with two goals: to play together and to make it back to state.
Senior Sophie Byron and junior Katie Woods not only made it back to state, but led the way with 5 of the team’s 11 points. This marked Edwardsville’s first top 10 finish since 2016.
“We both hit our stride going into the state tournament,” Woods said. “We felt like we had a great chance to make All-State, which was one of our goals before the season.”
The team also collected 4 points across three wins from freshman Dia Kannan, the sole representative in the singles bracket. Her loss came to the back-to-back state champion from Plainfield North, Jessica Kovalcik.
“The girls in Chicago were at an extremely high level; all my matches were extremely difficult,” Kannan said. “The intensity and drive the girls over there had was definitely something to look up to and improve on.”
To qualify for the state tournament in Chicago, Kannan won the sectionals tournament in Chatham.
“Winning sectionals … gave me a lot of confidence going into state,” she said. “My game significantly improved since I was playing much better girls.”
While Byron and Woods had each made state twice, the team’s other duo featured two players making their state debut, senior Veda Kommineni and freshman Bina Selimi.
“Making state as a senior was the best part of my career,” Kommineni said. “It’s always the best way to end, and I got to do it with my freshman partner. It meant a lot to set her up for her next four years.”
All three entries for Edwardsville in the state tournament went out to either the champion or runner-up, showing they could play with the best teams in the state.
“I’m glad we worked hard over the season to get us to this spot,” Selimi said. “I loved a good challenge in the process of it all.”
To compete with bigger schools in Chicago, where tennis competition is particularly strong, the team frequently traveled to different tournaments across the country.
“Coach Lipe does a great job preparing us for the competition we’ll face in Chicago and at state,” Woods said. “We play a tough schedule and travel almost every weekend. It really helps us get prepared.”
One of the matches that helped prepare the team for state was against St. Charles North, where Woods and Byron lost 11-9 on a tiebreaker in the third set.
“They were an All-State team as well and that’s the competition we face every time we travel to Chicago during the season,” Woods said.
Playing against some of the top-tier teams in Illinois, the team closed out the season by proving they could compete with the best.
“All of us felt very accomplished and proud of the way we played,” Kannan said. “It was a big achievement for us.”