Edwardsville's Woods, Kannan share tennis honor after standout seasons

EDWARDSVILLE - While Katie Woods put the finishing touches on her Edwardsville career with a fifth-place finish in doubles at the Class 2A state tournament, Dia Kannan is only halfway through building her own Tigers legacy.

Woods and Kannan are the 2025 Telegraph Girls Tennis Players of the Year after helping lead the Tigers to a seventh straight Southwestern Conference championship, a sixth straight sectional championship, an eighth-place finish at state and a 21-7 record in dual matches.

Woods was right in the middle of that success.

The senior won the No. 1 doubles flight with Albina Selimi at both the SWC Tournament and the Edwardsville Class 2A Sectional. She also won the No. 2 singles flight at the SWC Tournament.

It was the third straight sectional championship for Woods, who won the singles title in 2023 before taking the last two in doubles. She won last year's doubles title with Sophie Byron.

At the state tournament, Woods and Selimi earned a 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Conant's Nidhi Karekar and Advita Deepak in the fifth-place match to finish 6-1. It was the second top-five state finish in program history for the Tigers.

"Katie obviously had a prodigious career," Edwardsville coach Dave Lipe said. "She did a lot of amazing things, and I think finishing fifth with Bina (Selimi) at state this year was kind of the icing on the cake."

Woods went 47-10, leading the team in wins. She was one of three Tigers to record at least 40 wins, along with Selimi at 46 and Amelia Hill at 41. Woods' 47 wins were the most by an Edwardsville player since Callaghan Adams had 50 in 2015.

Woods finished her career with a 149-59 record, including 15-1 at the sectional and 12-7 in four state tournament appearances. She ranks sixth in program history in wins.

The SWC Rookie of the Year in 2022, Woods was an All-SWC first-team doubles selection in 2022, 2024 and 2025 and a singles selection in 2023. She was the conference's player of the year in 2023 and 2025.

"She is a fantastic, fantastic girl. She has had a lot of success here, won a lot of matches here in singles and doubles, and she's definitely left her mark on the program," Lipe said.

With a fiery personality on the court, Woods won at least 34 matches in each of her last three seasons after going 29-20 as a freshman. She finished one win away from joining the five-member 150-win club at Edwardsville.

Her all-around game was the foundation for that success.

"She's a complete tennis player," Lipe said. "She's got a lot of skill. She's got a great serve. She's got a game that will continue to improve. Fundamentally, she does a lot of things very well, and she's a good athlete."

Woods will continue her tennis career at McKendree University in Lebanon, where Lipe believes she will continue to progress and excel.

"Her development throughout her four years has been exemplary, and I'm anxious to see all the good things she continues to do on the tennis court at McKendree," Lipe said.

While Woods' career with the Tigers has come to a close, Kannan still has two more chapters to write.

Kannan went 39-15 in her sophomore season, including 3-1 in the sectional and 2-2 at the state tournament.

"Dia had a fantastic year," Lipe said. "It's very difficult to play everybody's best tennis player every time we go on the court, but she handled it with a lot of grace this year."

At the SWC Tournament, Kannan won the No. 1 singles championship with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Belleville West's Annabelle Brunner. She also teamed with Grace Hohman to win the No. 3 doubles championship.

It was Kannan's second straight SWC championship in the No. 1 singles flight.

"She was the conference champion in singles at the conference tennis tournament. She was 1-1 against her rival from Belleville West, and she played great at the conference tournament," Lipe said.

Kannan bounced back from a semifinal loss at the Edwardsville Sectional to defeat Collinsville's Toby Hawkes 6-3, 6-1 for third place, qualifying for state for the second straight season.

"Finishing third in our sectional wasn't what she wanted, but I think she finished well, and she played well at state," Lipe said.

Kannan picked up a pair of wins in her second state tournament appearance.

She opened with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Hampshire's Isabella Kowalak before dropping her second-round match. Kannan then earned a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Whitney Young's Leena Manadan to bounce back before taking her second loss.

While Kannan's junior season won't begin until next month, she has stayed busy preparing for it by playing in summer tournaments. She recently won the mixed doubles championship with Jake Brinker at the Highland Tournament and, in early June, won the doubles championship with Ashley Hayes at the Edwardsville Open.

"I think Dia is having by far the best offseason that she's had in the previous two years. I think by far the best is yet to come for Dia," Lipe said.

Kannan will enter her junior season with a 75-28 career record. She is on pace to finish in the top six in career wins at Edwardsville.

"She's qualified for state twice already. She's been an all-state player, and she's only halfway done with her career," Lipe said. "I think she has the potential to be one of the really great players that ever played here."

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