Meet the SJ-R's girls and boys all-area tennis teams, POTYs for '25-26

The State Journal-Register announces its members of the girls and boys all-area tennis teams and players of the year for the 2025-26 school year.

ALL-AREA GIRLS TENNIS TEAM

Ellie Surges, Chatham Glenwood

The Titans’ senior capped her year with a 34-6 record and was named The State Journal-Register’s 2025-26 All-area Girls Tennis Player of the Year. 

Surges won the Central State Eight Conference and sectional singles championships for the first time, while helping Glenwood capture both tournaments. She advanced to the Illinois High School Association Class 1A State Finals and as a 9-16 seed, finished 2-2 after winning two matches in the championship bracket.  

Her sectional title run at Mount Zion included a 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1 victory over Maroa-Forsyth’s Ella Sandgren in the championship match, the third time she had defeated Sandgren during the season and went into state with 13 straight wins.  

Surges won the CS8 title by defeating senior teammate Lydia Ryherd 6-2, 6-2, and picked up a first-place ribbon with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Normal U-High’s Risha Patel for the No. 1 singles title at the Springfield High Invitational. Surges and Ryherd also had success for the Titans in No. 2 doubles, finishing 12-0 during the regular season.  

Surges, who will attend Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, but will not play tennis, produced three solid seasons at Glenwood and advanced to the Class 2A State Finals during her sophomore and junior seasons. 

Here is the rest of the all-area girls tennis team separated by singles and doubles. 

Singles 

Lydia Ryherd, Chatham Glenwood 

The senior contributed in the No. 2 singles hole all season and reached the Class 1A state tournament for the first time. She lost to teammate Ellie Surges 6-2, 6-2 in the title match at the CS8 tournament and earned a trip to state after a fourth place showing at the Mount Zion Sectional.

She lost both of her matches at state and ended the season with a 25-11 record. Ryherd won the No. 2 singles flight at the Springfield Invitational.   

Finley York, Jacksonville 

The sophomore helped the Crimsons (17½ points) secure a third-place finish at the CS8 tournament when she reached the semifinals and eventually defeated Normal U-High’s Sanvi Nadiger 7-6 (3), 6-1 for third place. York, the top singles player for Jacksonville, finished 11-9 overall.

She played with a variety of teammates in doubles and paired with freshman Malin Camerer to place second in the No. 2 slot at the Springfield Invitational.  

Doubles 

Olivia Hallberg/Sanvi Modi, Chatham Glenwood

The freshmen became the prodigies of coach Sonthana Thongsithavong and delivered with a doubles championship on Hallberg’s 15th birthday at the CS8 Conference meet. They defeated Addie Cortese and Gabi Pecoraro of Normal U-High 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-4 for the title.

At the Mount Zion 1A Sectional, Hallberg and Modi took second place after falling to Katherine Nilles and Alex Nilles of Maroa-Forsyth 6-4, 6-3 in the title match. They were unseeded at state, winning their first two matches, including knocking off Chicago Latin’s 9-16 seed in the first round. Hallberg and Modi ended the season with a loss in the consolation’s fourth round and a 26-12 record. They placed second in the No. 1 flight at the Springfield High Invite. 

Leah Range/Abby White, Jacksonville 

The doubles pair reached the Class 1A state finals tournament, snapping a 10-year school hiatus. Lucy Deal was the last player to reach state in 2015 in a one-class system. 

They defeated Glenwood’s Hallberg and Modi in a tight championship match at the No. 1 doubles flight of the Springfield High Invitational. Later, Range and White placed fourth at both the CS8 meet and Mount Zion Sectional. They ended the state tournament in the consolation’s second round, winning one match for a 19-13 overall record.     

Lucia Hassebrock/Catalina Mosquera, Sacred Heart-Griffin 

The doubles tandem finished the season with an inspired run in the consolation bracket at the state meet. They won four consolation matches, including three in one day, and concluded state with a loss in the fifth round and a 4-2 mark. 

Hassebrock and Mosquera’s post-season run was highlighted by a three-set quarterfinal win, followed by a third-place victory at the Mount Zion Sectional. They finished fifth in the No. 1 doubles flight at the Central Illinois Invite, as well as at the CS8 tournament.  

Valentina Osgood/Madisyn Williams, Springfield High

The Senators’ top two players in both singles and doubles ended their season with a quarterfinal loss (6-2. 5-7, 6-3) to SHG’s Hassebrock and Mosquera at the Mount Zion Sectional.

They finished sixth at the CS8 tournament and placed fourth in both the Central Illinois and Springfield High Invites at No. 1 doubles during the season. As a doubles pair, they went 11-15.  

ALL-AREA BOYS TENNIS TEAM

Aarav Patel, Chatham Glenwood

Despite being a freshman, Patel was a crucial player in helping the Titans take seventh place at the Illinois High School Association Class 1A Boys State Tennis Finals in 2026. 

As a Nos. 5-8 seed, Patel and senior Talha Arshad reached the doubles quarterfinals, won six of seven state matches and took fifth place on the final day of the three-day tournament as the Titans finished with 14 points.

Patel, who also compiled a 7-2 record during the regular season in the Nos. 1 and 2 singles spots for Glenwood, has been named The State Journal-Register’s All-area Boys Tennis Player of the Year.  

He and Arshad placed second at the J.D. Sinnock Invitational as the Titans won with 30 points. They won the Central State Eight Conference doubles title with 28 points and followed that up with a doubles championship, leading Glenwood to 27 points and a sectional title at Jacksonville.  

Arshad and Patel finished with a 30-3 record and finished an impressive season by winning three straight matches at state in a third-set tiebreaker.  

Here is the rest of the all-area boys tennis team separated by singles and doubles.  

SINGLES

Ben Loeffler, Chatham Glenwood

The senior made up for missing the 2025 Class 2A state finals with an injured shoulder by advancing to state in 1A in 2026 and advancing to the second day to finish the tournament with a 3-2 record.  

He won one championship bracket match, and two consolation matches. Loeffler was crowned champion at the Jacksonville Sectional, and he repeated as CS8 conference champ. He took second place in the No. 1 singles flight at the J.D. Sinnock Invite and ended the season 19-7.      

Cole Nebel, Jacksonville 

The senior reached his second state finals in 1A after finishing third in singles at the Jacksonville Sectional.  

Nebel went 0-2 at state and finished the season 28-12. After losing in the early rounds at the CS8 meet, he wasn’t given the opportunity to place when the back draw matches were cancelled due to rain. 

Bennett Nelson, Springfield High  

The sophomore performed as the Senators No. 1 singles player in the championship season and qualified for the Class 1A state finals with a third-place finish at the Mount Zion Sectional.  

Nelson went 1-2 at state with a straight sets win in the consolation bracket. He placed fourth in the CS8 tournament and concluded with a 20-16 record.   

Connor Pollitt, Chatham Glenwood 

As a fifth seed, an inspired run by the senior led to a second-place finish at the Jacksonville Sectional. Pollitt advanced to his second straight state finals and lost his two matches to end 18-12.  

He placed second behind Loeffler in the CS8 conference final in a walkover, and was beaten by Loeffler 6-1, 6-1 in the championship match at the sectional. Pollitt placed second in the No. 2 singles draw at the J.D. Sinnock Invite.     

Kaden Smith, Sacred Heart-Griffin 

The junior provided the Cyclones with a second singles player, and he helped SHG tie Springfield High for the Class 1A Mount Zion Sectional title with 25 points apiece. 

Smith got to the sectional championship match with a semifinal win over Springfield’s Nelson before losing to SHG teammate Adam Wheeling in straight sets for the title. Smith won a consolation match at state and finished the tourney 1-2 and 20-11 overall. He lost to Nelson in the CS8 quarterfinals when he retired in the second set.   

Adam Wheeling, Sacred Heart-Griffin 

The senior qualified for the state finals for the fourth straight season. He defeated Smith 6-1, 6-3 in the title match.  

Wheeling won a consolation match, went 1-2 at state and finished the season 27-9. He placed third at the CS8 meet by beating Nelson 6-1, 6-2. To go with his 2026 appearance at state, Wheeling advanced in singles in 2024 as a sophomore. He went in doubles in 2023 with graduate Evan Aleman and they returned as teammates in 2025, advancing to the consolation quarterfinals.   

DOUBLES 

Jai Khurana/Shrihan Aleti, Springfield High

The Senators doubles duo won the Mount Zion Sectional and went into the Class 1A state finals with a 21-3 record. But in the process, the freshman, Aleti, fractured a finger, had surgery and missed the state tournament. 

Aleti was replaced by junior Ian Delcomyn, who joined Khurana and won a match in the consolation bracket to finish 1-2. Aleti and Khurana finished second in three sets to Glenwood rivals Arshad and Patel in the CS8 tournament title match and was fourth in the No. 1 doubles flight at the J.D. Sinnock Invite.     

Joseph Bertaina/Charlie Unal, Sacred Heart-Griffin 

They won their quarterfinal sectional match in three sets and eventually placed third at Mount Zion to advance to their first 1A state finals tournament. 

Bertaina and Unal lost both of their matches at state and finished the season 12-7. They lost to Arshad and Patel in the quarterfinals at conference.   

Tripp Tomko/Nikash Madanagopal, Chatham Glenwood 

The junior-senior tandem qualified for the  1A state finals and took third at the Jacksonville Sectional by beating Collin Knollhoff and Tristin Northrup of Jacksonville in straight sets.  

Tomko fell ill before state and was replaced by junior Yazan Said. Madanagopal and Said won a consolation match and finished the tournament 1-2.  

Madanagopal and Tomko won the No. 2 doubles flight at the J.D. Sinnock Invite and as Glenwood’s No. 2 doubles team, finished the season 24-3.  

Colin Knollhoff/Tristin Northrup, Jacksonville

The seniors won their first two matches and eventually finished fourth at the Jacksonville Sectional to earn them a trip to the 1A state finals.  

It was Knollhoff’s second advancement and Northrup’s first trip to the Chicago suburbs. They finished 0-2 after losing their first match to the top-seeded team in the state. 

Knollhoff and Northrup ended with a 13-11 record and got to the quarterfinals in the CS8 tournament. 

Contact Trevor Lawrence: 788-1548, trevor.lawrence@sj-r.com.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Meet the SJ-R’s girls and boys all-area tennis teams, POTYs for ’25-26

Reporting by Trevor Lawrence, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register

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By Trevor Lawrence, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network