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A look at the top girls tennis players in the NewsTribune area for the 2024 season.
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Eva Cervantes, La Salle-Peru, sr.: Cervantes had an area-best 22 wins this season as she finished 22-14. She placed first at No. 3 singles and in No. 3 doubles with Phoebe Shetterly in the L-P Red and Green Invite and placed second in the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament at No. 1 singles. She placed third at the Class 1A Ottawa Sectional to qualify for state.
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Kylee Halm, sr. and Izzy Pecchio, sr., La Salle-Peru: Halm and Pecchio won the No. 2 doubles bracket at the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament and finished with a 10-4 record. The duo placed fourth at the Ottawa Sectional to qualify for state. Halm and Pecchio went 1-2 at state to finish as a top-48 doubles team.
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Raleigh Leininger, sr. and Haylee Pangrcic, sr., La Salle-Peru: Leininger and Pangrcic had the best winning percentage in the area as they went 13-1 on the season. The pair won the No. 3 doubles bracket at the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament.
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Elena Leone, sr., and Cali Mickley, sr., La Salle-Peru: The 2024 NewsTribune Girls Tennis Players of the Year went 2-2 at the state tournament to finish as a top-32 doubles team in Class 1A. Leone and Mickley placed third at No. 1 doubles in the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament and finished third in the Ottawa Sectional. They finished 12-11.
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Grace Pecchio, sr., La Salle-Peru: Pecchio went 16-7 in singles play. She won the No. 4 singles bracket at the L-P Red and Green Invite and won the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament at No. 2 singles. She placed fourth at the Ottawa Sectional to qualify for state.
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Emilee Merkel, sr., Princeton: Merkel went 15-11 in singles play for the Tigresses. She helped Princeton win the Newman Invite and place second at the Mendota Invite. Merkel ended her season with a three-set loss at the Geneseo Sectional to an eventual state qualifier.
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Nora Schneider, sr. and Fiona Wempe, sr., Princeton: Schneider and Wempe went 14-8 at No. 1 doubles, helping the Tigresses win the Newman Invite and place second at the Mendota Invite. Schneider was named team MVP, and Wempe earned the team’s Sportsmanship Award.