Olivia Wu of Penn and Libby Yergler of South Bend Saint Joseph each extended their prep tennis seasons as individuals Saturday, May 30. Their respective team’s seasons come to an end in the semi-state round of the state tournament series, though.
The No. 9 Kingsmen fell to No. 16 Carroll 3-2 in the IHSAA Homestead Semi-state. The No. 12 Huskies dropped a 4-1 final to No. 3 Carmel in the Culver Academies Semi-state.
Penn, which lost in the quarterfinals at state in 2025, finished at 19-3. The Huskies, who lost in the semi-state round a year ago, finished at 18-5.
Sophomore Wu and junior Yergler remained undefeated in the state tourney with wins Saturday. The pair advance on in the individual portion of the tourney for No. 1 singles players.
Wu won 6-2, 6-4 for the Kingsmen, while Yergler won 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 for the Huskies.
Penn also got a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 win from junior Gabby Roland at No. 3 singles.
The Kingsmen had beaten Carroll 3-2 during the regular season.
“Olivia played extremely well,” said Penn coach Eric Bowers in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “Gabby played great all year. I was proud of how she fought today to end her season on a positive note.”
Junior Samantha Pischalko lost 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles for Penn. Juniors Ava Lightburn and Hayden Striegel lost 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles and seniors Mary Kirleis and Amina Spahic lost 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
“Carroll is an experienced team, and we just seem to keep playing them in the semi-state,” Bowers noted. “I think this team felt they had something to prove this year after we lost our No. 1 singles player from last year.
“This team at 19-3 surpassed all expectations. They won the NIC title for the first time since 2019 and had a top 10 ranking. They just had a great team attitude. We won a lot of 3-2 matches this season and we will have five of these players back next season.”
Yergler won a tough match for the Huskies lone point.
“This was a good win for Libby,” said Saint Joseph coach Bill Mountford in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “She gutted it out. The Carmel player, who Libby beat earlier in the season, got everything back. She made Libby work and be patient as the match lasted two hours.”
Sophomore Coco Burfien lost 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 2 singles and senior Ella Michaels lost 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles for the Huskies. Maggie Jenkins and Maya Ewing lost 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 doubles and Sofia Farger and Mia Penn lost 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles for St. Joe.
“Coco competed hard and did a much better job this time,” said Mountford. “She lost 6-3, 6-2 to the Carmel girl last time we played them. She was up 6-5 in the second set.”
St. Joe also lost 4-1 to Carmel during the regular season.
“I told our girls that next year starts today,” Mountford stated. “You have to put the time in. The only way that you get better is to play matches. We played a tough schedule this season and that’s the best way to get better.
“We lose one senior from this year’s team. We had a lot of players gain valuable experience this year. I think that we will be a better team next year, but you have to put the work in in the offseason.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn, Saint Joseph tennis teams see seasons end at IHSAA semi-state
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
