By Fred Kroner
In seven of nine divisions, members of the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ tennis team advanced to championship matches in the Apollo Conference Tournament, which ended on Saturday (Sept. 30) in Mount Zion.
The Bulldogs’ winner included the undefeated doubles duo of Adella Bird and Holland Martin. They posted a pair of two-set sweeps to prevail at No. 2 doubles.
Bird (at No. 2 singles) and Martin (at No. 3 singles) were also conference titlists, each player winning twice in two-set sweeps.
Finishing as Apollo Conference runners-up were Savannah Amatyleon (No. 1 singles), Emily Young (No. 4 singles) and Emmie Flores (No. 6 singles) as well as the No. 3 doubles pairing of Ashley Shoaf and Lindsay Gowler.
The Bulldogs’ other entries were Claire Johnson (third at No. 5 singles) and the No. 1 doubles unit of Amatyleon and Young, who placed fourth.
Mattoon won the Apollo team crown with 53 points. Runner-up M-S totaled 48 points and had its highest conference finish ever.
For the tournament, M-S players combined to win 10 of 14 matches in singles and six of eight in doubles.
The nine-player all-conference team featured three athletes from M-S: senior Amatyleon, junior Martin and sophomore Bird.
On Tuesday (Oct. 3), M-S returned to action at the Middletown Courts and swept past Taylorville, 9-0.
Each of the Bulldog victories came in straight sets.
Amatyleon won at No. 1 (6-3, 6-0), Martin won at No. 2 (6-4, 6-2) and Haley Reed won at No. 3 (6-2, 6-1).
The Bulldogs’ other entries were making their season varsity debuts in singles: junior Eliza Agate (won at No. 4, 6-0, 6-2), junior Lily Roberts (won at No. 5, 6-2, 6-3) and junior Charlotte Mercer (won at No. 6, 6-0, 6-0).
In doubles, the highlight was a victory at No. 2 by Martin and Bird (6-0, 6-1). For the season, they have a record of 13-0 with just one of those matches requiring three sets.
Other doubles’ winners for M-S were Amatyleon and Young at No. 1 (6-0, 6-2) along with the No. 3 duo of Delaney Shore and Kaile Jeffers (6-2, 6-3).
M-S (9-2) returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 5) against St. Thomas More at the Atkins Tennis Center, in Champaign.
