Here are the 13 Peoria-area players headed to the IHSA girls tennis state finals

In an impressive display, Dunlap High School dominated the Galesburg Sectional to secure a sectional championship and secure qualification for the IHSA State Tennis Finals. The team will be represented by two singles players and two doubles tandems.

Over the weekend, the Peoria area witnessed the advancement of five singles players and four doubles teams from sectional play.

At Galesburg

Dunlap demonstrated their prowess at the Class 1A Galesburg Sectional, securing a commanding victory with 34 points. They easily outpaced Geneseo, the runner-up, and claimed their fifth sectional championship in six years.

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Shikha Agarwal, a senior from Dunlap, clinched the singles title with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 victory over her teammate Maya Baman. Both Agarwal and Baman will move on to the state finals, which will be held from Thursday to Saturday at Buffalo Grove High School and other locations in the Chicago area.

The Eagles also secured qualification for the state finals in the doubles category, as Sophie Muir and Alassea Michel emerged victorious in a 1-2 finish against their teammates Emily Klemens and Isabella Gusso, with a score of 6-4, 6-4 in the Galesburg Sectional title match.

At Richwoods

Richwoods had a solid showing at the Class 2A Richwoods Sectional, with junior Theresa Bartelme finishing fourth in singles play. The Knights also secured a spot in the state finals through their doubles tandem of senior Julia Wojtowicz and junior Olivia Reynolds, who were runners-up in the title match against Normal Community’s Kruthi Sudhir and Anna Mayes. Last season, Wojtowicz and Reynolds finished in third place, making them the highest-ranking girls doubles team from the Peoria area in 30 years.

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At Morton

In the Morton Sectional, seniors Brianna Bessert and Emma Hernandez from Metamora secured their qualification for the state tournament with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Haley Martin and Emma Eovaldi from Normal U-High in the doubles category. Metamora sophomore Lexi Burton finished as the runner-up in the singles bracket, while Chloe Kendall, a freshman from Morton, claimed fourth place. In the team standings, Metamora narrowly missed out on the title, losing by just one point to Normal U-High.

At LaSalle-Peru

The LaSalle-Peru Sectional was incomplete due to inclement weather, which forced a stoppage in play after three rounds. The sectional semifinals and championships in singles and doubles will now take place on Monday.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, covering Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen, and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. You can reach him at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria-area players headed to the IHSA girls tennis state finals