Sauk Valley girls state tennis preview – Shaw Local

Class 1A

When and where: Thursday from 9 a.m. through Saturday, hosted by Hersey High School.

Local interest: Dixon – Addison Arjes, Sr., Grace Ferguson, Sr. Sterling – Ellie Aitken, sr.

Advance: The state tournament is a double-elimination tournament. Players advance to the consolation round after a loss. The first three rounds of each bracket will be played on Thursday. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the main draw as well as the fourth, fifth and sixth consolation rounds will be played on Friday. The final round will be played on Saturday along with the semi-final and final rounds of the consolation round.

For your information: Dixon claims his first sectional title since 2005 after winning last weekend in Rochelle. Ferguson, a four-time state qualifier, defeated Arjes 6-0, 6-0 in the sectional singles final. Arjes won her first-round state game last year before suffering two straight losses. Ferguson went 0-2 last season, her first time playing at state singles. She and Leah Kuehl reached the fourth consolation round in doubles as a sophomore after going 0-2 the year before.

For Sterling, Aitken is a four-time state tennis qualifier and placed third at the Geneseo Sectional. Last year she lost her first match in straight sets and failed confidently in the tiebreak. Looking for her first win at the tournament, Aitken compiled a singles record of 23-6. Her older sister, Abby, was the last Sterling player to win a singles match at state. Abby lost her opening match before winning her first consolation match of 2018, 7-6 (6), 6-4 against Kyah Eastin of Matoon.

“I’m approaching the state tournament with no pressure and just going out there to have fun since this is my last tennis tournament of my high school career and my goal was to make it to the state tournament all four years,” said Aitken. “My sister [Abby]who I really look up to was my motivation to qualify all four years because she did it for three years. I will play loose and free and focus on playing my game regardless of who my opponent is. That’s my mindset to be successful this week.”

Sterling coach Kip Aitken is excited to see how Ellie performs in her final state appearance.

“Her game has improved tremendously over the last four years and she has prepared by playing against very strong competition in both the conference and sectional tournaments,” he said. “I’m just really proud of her hard work, her achievements and who she is as a person. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”