Richwoods duo becomes part of Peoria history at IHSA girls tennis state finals

Wes Huett, Journal Star
·6 min read

Richwoods players Olivia Reynolds and Julia Wojtowicz joined elite company this weekend.

The duo finished third place statewide at the Illinois High School Association Class 1A state finals on Saturday morning — the first girls tennis players from the Peoria area to reach that level in three and a half decades.

Reynolds and Wojtowicz — who played as singles players all season — teamed to win four matches before losing 6-0, 6-3 Friday to the top-seeded tandem of Addison Lanton and Noelle Lanton of Elgin Academy in the state semifinals.

The Knights doubles team rebounded to win the Class 1A third-place match, 6-0, 7-6 (4) over Amber Ehrlich and Simmi Mander of Chatham Glenwood on Saturday morning in Buffalo Grove. The unbeaten Lantons advanced to the championship match.

More:Here are the 22 Peoria-area players headed to the IHSA girls tennis state finals

The Richwoods duo is only the third from the Tri-County area to make the final four of an IHSA girls tennis state finals — joining two other duos from Richwoods.

The Richwoods doubles team of Emily Ransburg and Debbie Snyder finished third statewide in the 1986-87 school year. A decade before that, Sue Moore and Cindy Reiman of Richwoods took third place statewide in 1976-77 and followed that with a second-place finish the following season. Those finishes came in the single-class system; girls tennis split into two classes in 2016.

Reynolds and Wojtowicz were the only Peoria-area players this season to make it to Friday's matches in the championship draw. The Knights finished in the top 10 as a team for the second consecutive season.

The next-highest area finisher was Dunlap's Shikha Agarwal, who advanced to the consolation quarterfinals Friday before a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Savannah Webb of Richmond-Burton. The Eagles also finished in the top 10.

Notre Dame's Mary Breitbach and the Dunlap doubles team of Leah Meghrian and Sophie Muir each advanced to the fifth round of the consolation bracket before losing their second matches and ending their state finals.

Dunlap junior Shikha Agarwal makes a return against Metamora's Camryn Youngquist during a Sept. 27, 2022 match at the Dunlap High School tennis courts.
Dunlap junior Shikha Agarwal makes a return against Metamora's Camryn Youngquist during a Sept. 27, 2022 match at the Dunlap High School tennis courts.

How Peoria-area players fared at the IHSA state finals

Here is a match-by-match look for Peoria-area players at the 2022 state finals:

Olivia Reynolds and Julia Wojtowicz, Richwoods

  • First round: def. Tali Stone/Kylie Jacques, Macomb, 6-0, 6-1

  • Second round: def. Abigail Atwood/Grayce Burgener, Olney Richland County, 6-3, 6-0

  • Third round: def. Rachel Abraham/Maeve Paris, Oak Park Fenwick, 7-6 (8), 6-3

  • Quarterfinal: def. Mia Bianco/Mia Lapiere, Chicago Latin 6-2, 6-0

  • Semifinal: lost to Addison Lanton/Noelle Lanton, Elgin Academy, 6-0, 6-3

  • Third-place match: def. Amber Ehrlich/Simmi Mander, Chatham Glenwood, 6-0, 7-6 (4)

Shikha Agarwal, Dunlap

  • First round: def. Julia Musgrave, Rochester, 6-0, 6-0

  • Second round: def. Gretchen Zarbock, Morris, 6-0, 6-0

  • Third round: lost to Nicola Kupczyk, Chicago Latin, 6-3, 6-0

  • Fourth-round consolation: def. Lily Gregary, Mattoon, 6-0, 6-1

  • Fifth-round consolation: def. Corona Chen, Chicago University, 6-2, 6-1

  • Consolation quarterfinals: lost to Savannah Webb, Richmond-Burton, 6-3, 6-4

Mary Breitbach, Notre Dame

  • First round: def. Jasmine King, Chicago Morgan Park Academy, 6-0, 6-0

  • Second round: def. Elizabeth Kleckner, Sycamore, 6-0 6-2

  • Third round: lost to Megan Trifilio, Oak Park Fenwick, 6-1, 6-1

  • Fourth-round consolation: def. Abby Stiles, Coal City, 6-1, 6-0

  • Fifth-round consolation: lost to Jocelynn Carmody, Troy Triad, 6-1, 6-1

Leah Meghrian and Sophie Muir, Dunlap

  • First round: def. Lily Graham/Kimber Calvert, Paris, 6-0, 6-2

  • Second round: def. Danielle Savin/Anna Beth Woolf, Winnetka North Shore Country Day, 6-4, 4-6, (10-6)

  • Third round: lost to Alice Mihas/Malia Chen, Chicago Latin

  • Fourth-round consolation: def. Claire Uhl/Evie Potter, Olney Richland County, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6

  • Fifth-round consolation: lost to Karen Speer/Sami Hartoin, Troy Triad, 6-2, 6-2

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Maya Baman, Dunlap

  • First round: lost to Maya Jenny, Danville Schlarman, 6-3, 7-6 (2)

  • First-round consolation: def. GiGi DeGennaro, Belvidere, 6-1, 6-0

  • Second-round consolation: def. Elizabeth Kleckner, Sycamore, 6-3, 6-1

  • Third-round consolation: def. Ella Sandgren, Maroa-Forsyth, 6-2, 6-4

  • Fourth-round consolation: lost to Lorenza FosterSimbulan, Glen Ellyn Glenbard South, 6-2, 6-0

Carly Edwards and Brianna Bessert, Metamora

  • First round: def. Megan Anderson/Mary Grace Townsend, Arlington Heights St. Viator, 7-5, 7-6 (5)

  • Second round: lost to Karen Speer/Sami Hartoin, Troy Triad, 6-1, 6-1

  • Second-round consolation: def. Theresa Bartelme/Rachel Zevnik, Richwoods, 7-6 (4), 6-3

  • Third-round consolation: lost to Grace Ferguson/Leah Kuehl, Dixon, 6-1, 6-4

Theresa Bartelme and Rachel Zevnik, Richwoods

  • First round: lost to Maggie Feely/Haley Martin, Normal University, 6-2, 6-1

  • First-round consolation: def. Elle Ipsen/Mia Kaiser, Antioch, 6-2, 6-2

  • Second-round consolation: lost to Carly Edwards/Brianna Bessert, Metamora, 7-6 (4), 6-3

Kailey Johnson, Washington

  • First round: lost to Talia Truska, Chicago Latin, 6-1, 6-0

  • First-round consolation: def. Aashka Trivedi, Lemont, 7-6 (7), 7-5

  • Second-round consolation: lost to Adri Tonn, Benton, 6-0, 6-4

Carlie Miller, LaSalle-Peru

  • First round: def. Marta Fito, Woodstock, 6-3, 6-0

  • Second round: lost to Meredith Garcia, Arlington Heights St. Viator, 6-1, 6-1

  • Second-round consolation: lost to Layden Almer, LaGrange Park Nazareth, 6-3, 7-5

Ava Lannen and Emelia Hachenberger, LaSalle-Peru

  • First round: lost to Addison Lanton/Noelle Lanton, Elgin Academy, 6-0, 6-0

  • First-round consolation: def. Elise Destasio/Julia Kagan, Chatham Glenwood, 7-5, 6-3

  • Second-round consolation: lost to Audery Litfin/Jillian Paulson, West Chicago Wheaton Academy, 6-2, 6-2

Hailey Gerlach and Elissa Roozenboom, Washington

  • First round: lost to Ava Towne/Josie Hotsinpiller, Danville, 6-1, 6-4

  • First-round consolation: lost to Abbey Lakickas/Emma Manthey, Lemont, 7-6 (6), 6-4

Camryn Youngquist, Metamora

  • First round: lost to Annie List, Robinson, 6-4, 6-3

  • First-round consolation: lost to Ashley Rajcevich, Wheaton St. Francis, 6-2, 6-1

Isabella Pohar and Kaylie Reese, LaSalle-Peru

  • First round: lost to Ally McCarthy/Callie Streitz, Joliet Catholic, 6-1, 6-2

  • First-round consolation: lost to Ava Cammon/Kathryn Jennings, Flora, 6-2, 6-1

Tali Stone and Kylie Jacques, Macomb

  • First round: lost to Olivia Reynolds/Julia Wojtowicz, Richwoods, 6-0, 6-1

  • First-round consolation: lost to Natalie Moody/Molly Lanter, Belleville Althoff, 7-6 (2), 6-0

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls tennis: Richwoods doubles team leads Peoria at state finals