SJ-O Tennis Falls One Win Short of State Qualification at IHSA Class 1A Sectional

By Fred Kroner

Two St. Joseph-Ogden entries in the IHSA girls’ Class 1A tennis sectional tournament finished one win away from qualifying for state on Saturday (Oct. 19) at Paris.

Samantha Kelso lost to the No. 2 singles seed in the quarterfinals, after opening the postseason with a 6-2, 6-1 decision.

In doubles, Lily Rice and MaKennah Hamilton earned a hard-fought win, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5) in the second round before being ousted by the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals.

All quarterfinal winners are guaranteed of participating at state.

The Spartans had a second doubles duo that won a first-round match. Sara Kearney and Ella Dietiker began the tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph before falling to the No. 4 seed.

SJ-O’s other entry, Madison Clampitt in singles, lost her lone match at the sectional.

In the 11-team tournament, SJ-O tied St. Thomas More for fourth place with 10 points. Mahomet-Seymour and Danville each scored 25 points, with M-S winning the tiebreaker to claim the sectional crown.

Placing third was Paris with 12 points.

Dietiker and Kearney ended the year with a 9-7 overall record. Hamilton and Rice were 9-10 overall. In all, SJ-O tried 13 different combinations in doubles.

In singles, Kelso compiled a 9-10 record. Madison Farber was 7-7 and Olivia Getty was 6-1. Clampitt also wound up with six singles wins. In all, 11 Spartans played at least one varsity singles match and nine earned at least one win.