Richards High School asked coaches to write season summaries on the highlights, best moments, and achievements of their teams. Connor Reynolds writes in detail below about the Richards girls tennis program and their historic successes:
Richards Girls Tennis were the SSC Conference Tournament Champions for the second year in a row. Kayla McSweeney (1st Singles), Meghan McSweeney (2nd Singles), and Julie Casey/Thea Wyzykowski (2nd Doubles) were all conference champions and members of the SSC All-Conference Team. Natalia Nykaza/Natalia Stekala (3rd Doubles) finished in 2nd place.
At IHSA Sectional competition Kayla McSweeney qualified for State for the 4th consecutive year, setting a new gold standard for Richards Girls Tennis. No other Girls Tennis player, and only one Boys Tennis player ever qualified all four years. Kayla qualified by winning three matches against Mother McAuley, Oak Lawn, and Sandburg. She fell to the top seeded player in the Sectional Championship. Kayla will graduate as the most successful girls tennis player in Richards history, also including 3 consecutive SSC championships at 1st Singles.
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When the season started, there was no Conference tournament, or Sectional tournament. All the Girls had to work for was a regular season title. In the regular season, Richards was 5-0, defeating Lemont, Oak Lawn, Shepard, Argo and Eisenhower.
The cumulative score of these matches was 23-2, with 5-0 sweeps coming against Eisenhower, Argo, and Shepard. Trinity Dockery/Joanna Lupa (1st Doubles), Nykaza/Stekala, Kayla McSweeney, and Meghan McSweeney were all undefeated in regular season play. Girls Tennis extended their undefeated Conference match streak to 16 dating back to last year.