Girls’ tennis wrapped up its winning season with a record of 6-4. Coached by Mr. Joe Brooks and assistant Harmon Deal, the team of 19 girls has had a great season and played all their matches at the Illinois College tennis courts. This year’s team was the largest it has been for quite some time as ten first-time players joined the team. Unfortunately, the team will be losing five seniors this season: Hannah Scobbie, Gabbi Mann, Anna Anderson, Maren Hagen, and Gwyn Barron. Despite these losses, the team has good prospects for next season according to Brooks and Deal. They are hoping for another good turnout as there are only two returning seniors.
The last meet for the varsity team was Sectionals which was held at Washington Park in Springfield on October 17 and 18. At that meet, the number one doubles team of senior Gabbi Mann and junior Lucy Deal placed third. As a result, they advanced to the State Finals Tournament in Chicago and played there on October 23. The Conference Tournament this year also proved to be very successful. All of the top six players advanced to the second day of matches. Coach Brooks said that this had not happened in a very long time.
Senior Night was held on October 8 at the Illinois College courts. Jacksonville played Southeast High School and won the meet 9-0. Seniors and their parents were recognized and thanked for their four years of playing on the team. While it was difficult to say goodbye to the seniors, it was great to finish the regular season on a high note. Number one singles player, Gabbi Mann, will be attending Colorado State next year. While she is not planning to play at the collegiate level, she “will always miss JHS tennis.”