LHS Athletes Enjoy Historical Effort At IHSA Girls’ Tennis Finals

LEMONT, IL — Lemont High School freshman Amanda Lopykinski advanced where no Lemont tennis player – male or female – previously had reached. The school said Lopykinski reached the quarterfinal round of the 2018 IHSA Class 1A Girls’ Tennis State Finals, which were contested from Oct. 18-20 and hosted by Districts 211, 214 and 220.

Seniors Grace Horky and Maggie O’Brien also set a new school standard for doubles teams by advancing to the fifth consolation round, and Lemont posted its best finish ever in the team standings, tying for 11th.

Lopykinski finished among the top eight singles players in the state. The school said she won each of her first two matches in straight sets before toppling Lake View’s Maria Rivas in three sets; Rivas placed fifth in state finals singles play in 2017. Lopykinski dropped her quarterfinal match to eventual state champion McKenna Schaefbauer of Normal University.

Due to inclement weather, the consolation quarterfinal and fifth-place matches were not played. Lopykinski closed the season with a 27-4 record.

After dropping a match in three sets in the opening round, the tandem of Horky and O’Brien reeled off four straight wins, including a pair of matches that needed third-set tiebreaks, and reached the fifth consolation round. They finished the season with a 21-6 mark.

Photos provided by Lemont High School.