PEORIA — Dunlap rode their doubles tandem to an all-time high in the Illinois High School Association Class 1A girls tennis state finals on Saturday in the Chicago suburbs.
The Eagles earned a trophy with a third-place team finish — the highest in the history of their program — fueled by a third-place finish from doubles partners Sophie Muir and Alassea Michel.
“It was such a team effort, what we’ve been working on all year,” Dunlap coach Pat Gornik said. “I told them to worry less about team results and more about individual. We did that, and it took care of itself.
“We’ve been working toward this, it’s a long time coming. We have a deep team. No drama, no complaints, just kept this in our long view. I’m so proud of them. It still hasn’t really sunk in. But it’s been a blessing and a privilege to coach them all.”
Who was at state?Here are the 13 Peoria-area players headed to the IHSA girls tennis state finals
Muir, a senior, and Michel, a sophomore, won the state’s third-place match Saturday, 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 over Chicago University tandem Tara Sawhney and Isabela Ji. It was the highest individual finish in the history of the decorated Dunlap girls tennis program.
It was also the second consecutive season a Peoria area girls doubles tandem took third place, following a Richwoods tandem last season that became the first girls players from the Peoria area in more than 30 years to do so.
Muir, who will play for Illinois College next season, and Michel went 5-1 at state to complete a 36-8 season as Dunlap’s No. 1 doubles team.
That helped the Eagles earn a state trophy, surpassing their previous team-high finish of seventh last season. No other Peoria area team finished in the top 29.
“They just fought through the ups and downs,” Gornik said. “Every match was a roller coaster that went through all the emotions. I can’t say enough about their resiliency, they went three sets with the No. 2 seeded team yesterday.
“They’ve been that steady tandem for us all year.”
More:How two Peoria tennis stars took different paths to the game, and to 100 career varsity wins
How the Dunlap lineup fared
Dunlap singles player Maya Baman reached the fourth round of the consolation bracket to earn third-team all-state honors.
No. 1 singles player Shikha Agarwal won her first three matches and gained the quarterfinals in the championship bracket, before losing a 9-8 (5) consolation quarterfinals match to Sophia Holt (Chicago University). That effort earned Agarwal second-team all-state honors.
The Dunlap doubles tandem of Emily Klemens and Isabella Gusso split four matches, exiting in the third round of consolation with an 8-4 loss to Metamora tandem of Brianna Bessert and Emma Hernandez.
Elsewhere in Class 1A
Metamora’s Bessert and Hernandez earned third-team all-state honors with a 3-2 doubles effort at state, reaching the fourth round of consolation.
Redbirds singles player Lexi Burton dropped both her matches.
Morton freshman Chloe Kendall went 2-1 at state, exiting in the second round of consolation.
More:100 wins, helicopters and New York: The unique journey of a Richwoods tennis ace
Richwoods in Class 2A
The Knights were that storybook team in Class 1A last season, then were pushed up into 2A this fall and finished outside the top 30.
Richwoods’ decorated doubles tandem of Julia Wojtowicz and Olivia Reynolds — which finished third in the state in 1A last season — landed in a 2A bracket against No. 1 seeds Maia and Estela Loureiro of Orland Park Sandburg.
They dropped that first-round match, 6-0, 6-1. The Orland Park tandem rolled on to the 2A championship match, which was still in progress Saturday afternoon.
Wojtowicz and Reynolds battled back to win three straight consolation bracket matches before falling to an Oak Park tandem in the fourth round.
Richwoods singles player Therea Bartelme dropped both her matches.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.