Edwardsville duo advances to quarterfinals at state tennis tournament

The Edwardsville doubles combination of Seth Lipe and Gabrielle Montanari breezed through their first three opponents and into the IHSA Class 2A Boys State Tournament doubles quarterfinals Friday in suburban Chicago.

Seeded among the top 16 teams, Lipe and Montanari dropped just 11 games in running past their first two opponents, then defeated Lake Forest’s Oleksyi Vyshyvanyuk and Will Zourdan 6-2, 22-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinal round. The Tigers’ top combination will take on Hinsdale Central’s Joesph Daw and Julian Hernandez on Friday at Hersey High School.

Lipe and Montanari are the reigning Southwestern Conference and IHSA sectional champions.

While one local entry advanced in the main draw Thursday, two other local players ended the first day of competition with 2-1 records and could still place as high as fifth in the Class 2A bracket.

Belleville East senior Max Skaer, seeded in the 9-16 group, split his first two matches, then won a third round consolation match to remain in contention for all-state recognition. Also seeded in the top 16, Edwardsville senior Zach Trimpe, won his first two matches before losing in the third round.

In Class 1A, Triad singles player Jaden Henderson and the Knights’ doubles team of Sean Froidcouer and Cameron Woods, are both still alive in the consolation bracket after winning two of three matches.

This story was originally published May 23, 2019 at 9:45 PM.