Mahomet-Seymour Girls’ Tennis Shines at State: Three Players Advance and Team Secures First Top-15 Finish

By Fred Kroner

All three Mahomet-Seymour qualifiers in the IHSA Class 1A girls’ tennis state tournament won at least two matches.

Both of the M-S entries in doubles lost first-round matches and then rebounded strongly in the consolation bracket.

Haley Reed and Elana Religioso dropped their state-opener, 6-2, 7-5 to a duo from Woodstock Marian.

They got on a roll thereafter, dispatching players from Chicago University High (6-1, 6-4), Geneseo (6-1, 6-2) and Teutopolis (6-2, 6-4) on Thursday (Oct. 24) to advance into the consolation fourth round.

They were one of eight remaining entries in the consolation bracket.

On Friday (Oct. 25), Reed and Religioso were eliminated by a duo from Niles, 6-4, 6-3.

They ended the year with a 17-4 record in doubles.

Teammates Adella Bird and Holland Martin fell in their first match (6-2, 6-4) to Effingham St. Anthony and then survived tests in their next two rounds, winning 6-7 (7), 6-1, 10-3 over Richton Park and 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 against Rockford Lutheran before being eliminated by Triad (6-4, 6-3).

Their final season record was 14-5. This was the second year in a row they won at least one match at state.

In singles, the Bulldogs had one participant.

Eliza Agate was victorious in her state debut, 6-0, 2-6, 11-9 over Marengo. In the second round, she suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Triad before pulling off a 6-2, 6-4 win in her first consolation match.

Agate was eliminated after a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Nazareth.

For the season, she was the Bulldogs’ winningest player in singles, compiling a final record of 18-4.

After first-day action at state, M-S was tied for ninth with eight points. The Bulldogs ultimately finished in a tie for 12th, their first top-15 state finish in girls’ tennis.

A year ago, M-S tied for 30th at state. Two years ago, the Bulldogs tied for 51st at state.

A total of 54 teams scored points at state in Class 1A. In all 152 schools participated in the Class 1A postseason.

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For the season, 23 of 27 M-S squad members played at least one match in doubles and 20 earned at least one win. Counting singles, 21 members of the roster were involved with at least one win.

Top records in singles belonged to Agate (18-4), Religioso (15-0), Ashley Shoaf (15-2), Martin (10-4), Bird (9-4) and Reed (8-0).

The top performing M-S doubles teams for coach Alex Amatyleon were Reed and Religioso (17-4), Bird and Martin (14-5) as well as Lindsay Gowler and Shoaf (11-0).

Teamwise, the Bulldogs set a school record with a 17-0 record in dual meets while also winning the Apollo Conference and sectional titles.

The previous school record for dual-meet wins was 11, set by the 2023 squad, which had an 11-2 final record. Counting the end of last season, the Bulldogs have a 20-match winning streak in dual meets.

Bird and Martin hold the school record for most wins by a doubles team in a single season. A year ago, they were 19-3 with a school record 17 consecutive wins.

The M-S mark for singles wins was set this season by Agate. The senior also established the mark for consecutive wins in singles, with 16.