GODFREY – So close.
The Alton girls tennis team came up one point short of winning its third tournament championship this season on Saturday, when it competed in the inaugural Robert Logan Memorial Tournament at Lewis and Clark Community College, Alton High School and Gordon Moore Park.
The Redbirds finished second in the eight-team tournament with 45 points. The Triad Knights won the title with 46.
Still, Alton walked away from the tournament with a trophy for its finish.
The Redbirds finished in a tie for first with Quincy Notre Dame at the Andy Simpson Doubles Invitational on Aug. 20 and shared the team title with Glenwood at the Jacksonville Invitational on Sept. 9. They also got a fifth-place finish at the Sacred Heart-Griffin Tournament on Sept. 2.
This year's Alton tournament was named after the Marquette Catholic High grad and former AHS boys and girls tennis coach who passed away last September after a long battle with cancer. Saturday's event began with a moment of silence.
The No. 1 and 2 singles and No. 1 doubles were played at LCCC, Nos. 3 and 4 singles were played at AHS and Nos. 2 and 3 doubles were played at Gordon Moore Park.
The Redbirds had a pair of champions in this year's event – junior Hannah Macias and sophomore Maddie Saenz.
Macias, the coach's daughter, won the No. 2 singles championship for the second year in a row after beating Triad's Caitlyn Smith 6-0, 6-1 in the title match. A year ago, Macias came from behind to beat Triad's Cathy Catalano in three sets in the No. 2 singles championship.
Saenz won her first Alton tournament title after beating Highland's Ashley Basden 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 3 singles title match. She also was one of two players in the tournament – the other was Taylor Fleming of Highland – to earn the sportsmanship award.
Alton also got second-place finishes from its No. 1 singles player, Abby Fischer, and its No. 2 (Val Walters and Ainsley Fortschneider) and No. 3 (Molly Gross and Lexi Mayfield) doubles teams. Fischer lost to Collinsville's Jennaka Cain 7-6, 6-1 in the finals and both doubles teams fell to Triad in their championship matches.
Triad, which won last year's tournament, placed first in three flights.
The seven-hour tournament ended with Triad's Bailey Grigg beating Marquette Catholic's Leah Hoefert 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 4 singles championship match at AHS. Had Grigg lost, the Redbirds would have shared the team title with Triad.
Hoefert was the only player to reach the finals for Marquette, which placed fifth with 28 points. She defeated Alton's Nikki Lowe and Civic Memorial's Erin Griffin to advance to the finals.
The Explorers also got a third-place finish from Katie Ventimiglia in No. 3 singles and a fourth-place finish from Maria Wendle at No. 2 singles.
Alton High's tennis girls tie for first place with Glenwood in Jacksonville Invite - Riverbender.com - 9/10/17
Updated on 06/10/2022
Alton High's tennis girls tie for first place with Chatham Glenwood in Jacksonville Invite
Alton High School scored 24 points to tie for first place with Chatham Glenwood in the eight-team Jacksonville Tennis Invite.
Hannah Macias continued her strong season by winning the championship at number two singles. Macias went 3-0 on the day and defeated Laurella Everhart of Pekin 6-1, 6-0 in the finals.
Abby Fischer placed second for the Redbirds. She fell 6-2, 6-1 to Hannah Reigle of Chatham Glenwood in the championship match.
The Redbirds got third-place finishes from their two doubles teams. Maddie Saenz and Nikki Lowe defeated Williams and Reynolds of Jacksonville in the third place match 6-0, 6-1.
Redbird sisters Cali and Mackenzie Giertz avenged a loss at last weekend's Sacred Heart Griffin tournament by defeating Coffey and Schmedke from Rochester 6-4, 6-4. In the team standings, Washington finished third with 19 points, followed by Pekin with 15 and Rochester with 13 to round out the top five.
Alton High School head girls tennis coach Jesse Macias said, "You need points from everyone to do well in a tournament and I feel like we got great efforts from the whole squad. Hannah and Abby are really playing well and it was nice to see them in the finals, but our doubles teams were both really solid today too.
"They bounced back from tough semi-final losses and got the points we needed to tie Chatham. I was really impressed with Cali and Mackenzie. It was an emotional third-place match and we were down in both sets. But, our girls stayed focused and grinded out the big points."
If you have a news, human interest or sports idea, e-mail Danbrannan@riverbender.com or call or text 618-623-5930. Follow Dan Brannan on Facebook and on Twitter.
Alton High School's girls post strong weekend of tennis in JV, varsity ranks - Riverbender.com - 9/4/2017
Updated on 06/10/2022
Alton High School's girls post strong weekend of tennis in JV, varsity ranks
ALTON - Alton High School's girls tennis team already shows strong depth through the varsity and junior varsity ranks early this season.
The Redbird girls had a good weekend of tennis, with two teams competing in varsity tournaments.
The Alton High junior varsity finished pool play on Friday with a 1-1 record in the Futures flight of the Heather Bradshaw Invitational by defeating Waterloo varsity and losing to Triad junior varsity.
The Redbirds advanced to the championship match based on tiebreaker criteria after all three teams finished with 1-1 records. On Saturday, the Redbirds defeated Peoria Richwoods varsity to capture the championship of the Futures flight.
Makayla Cox, Ainsley Fortschneider, Molly Gross, and Kami Johnson picked up singles wins for Alton. CeCe Moan and partner Claire Puent along with the team of Katie Manns and Josie Sands were victorious in doubles for the 6-3 win.
The varsity competed in the Sacred-Heart Griffin tournament on Saturday in Springfield and finished in fifth place out of 14 teams. The Redbirds were led by Hannah Macias, who finished in third place at number two singles. Macias defeated Catherine Willenborg of Effingham St. Anthony 6-0, 6-4 for the third.
The Redbirds' Abby Fischer finished fifth at number one singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Nidhi Venigalla of Chatham Glenwood in the fifth place match.
Maddie Saenz placed sixth at number three singles for the Redbirds, falling 6-2, 6-4 to Zarina Zayed of Niles North. University High School of Normal won the team championship with 37 points, followed by Bloomington Central Catholic (32 points), Effingham St. Anthony (31), Niles North (31) and Alton (16).
If you have a news, human interest or sports idea, e-mail Danbrannan@riverbender.com or call or text 618-623-5930. Follow Dan Brannan on Facebook and on Twitter.
Redbird Girls Tennis defeats Jersey - Riverbender.com - 8/30/2017
Updated on 06/10/2022
Redbird tennis girls get off to strong start once again under Coach Macias, show depth
ALTON - Alton High School's tennis girls are off to a very strong start under head coach Jesse Macias this season.
Alton High School defeated Jersey Community High School 6-3 at the Bud Simpson Complex at Gordon Moore Park on Tuesday afternoon. The match was tied 3-3 after singles, but the Redbirds got straight set wins and swept doubles for the final score. Alton High is 2-1 and plays in the Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin Tournament on Saturday.
Singles
Abby Fischer (A) def. Maag (J) 6-2, 6-2
Hannah Macias (A) def. Hudson (J) 6-0, 6-3
Maddie Saenz (A) def. Roth (J) 6-2, 6-3
Heinrich (J) def. Cali Giertz (A) 1-6, 1-6
Roberts (J) def. Mackenzie Gierz (A) 3-6, 4-6
Cannady (J) def. Val Walters (J) 7-5, 3-6, 10-5
Doubles
Fischer/Macias (A) def. Maag/Hudson (J) 6-1, 6-2
Giertz/Giertz (A) def. Roth/Roberts (J) 6-3, 6-2
Saenz/Walters (A) def. Heinrich/Cannady (J) 6-4, 6-3
First annual Andy Simpson Doubles Invite a success - AdVantageNews - 8/20/2017
Updated on 06/10/2022
First annual Andy Simpson Doubles Invite a success
GODFREY — Antigone “Andy” Simpson did a lot for tennis in the Riverbend.
When the longtime ambassador for the sport passed away last year the Alton tennis program wanted to do something to honor her, so the Andy Simpson Doubles Invitational was created.
The doubles tournament unfolded on Saturday at the Andy Simpson Tennis Complex at Lewis and Clark Community College and Alton High School. The Redbirds did her proud, sharing the team title with Quincy Notre Dame in the inaugural event.
The Birds gathered 36 points to tie QND. Bradley Bourbonnais was third with 23.5 followed by Rochester (22.5), Collinsville (20.5), Roxana (20), Duchesne (13.5) and Greenville (9).
Alton grabbed championships at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. The duo of Abby Fischer and Hannah Macias pulled out the top flight title with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over QND’s Claire Moore and Emily Vonderheide. At No. 2 it was AHS’ Maddie Saenz and Nikki Lowe winning 6-3, 6-3 over Abigail Ley and Allison Steinkamp of QND.
Roxana’s top finishers were its No. 1 doubles squad of seniors Sara Kreutztrager and Haley Milazzo, who won 6-2, 6-3 over Catherine Gray and Myra Zaheer of Bourbonnais for third place in the top flight.
Alton also took second place at No. 4 and No. 5 doubles. Val Walters and Lexi Mayfield of the Redbirds fell 6-2, 6-0 to QND’s Jamie Steinkemp and Amelia Smith in the No. 4 flight, while Skylar Wickenhauser and Molly Gross of Alton lost 6-4, 6-3 to Elodie Rowlie and Mollie Morrissey of Rochester in the No. 5 finals.
Cali and Mackenzie Giertz of AHS took third at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Lexi Ludgate and Brooke Mask of Collinsville.
Delaney Tyler and Anna-Marie Bailey of the Shells were the consolation champs at No. 3, beating Erica Bunch and Faith Andrews of Rochester, 6-3, 6-3, while Roxana’s Hannah Robinson and Stephanie Kamp nabbed the consolation title at No. 5, besting Julie Schueppert and Courtney Compton of Duchesne, 6-3, 6-4.
Alton Girls tennis team opens with dual match, then first annual Andy Simpson Doubles Invitational - Riverbender.com - 8/16/2017
Updated on 06/10/2022
Alton girls tennis team opens with dual match, then first annual Andy Simpson Doubles Invitational
The Redbirds open the 2017 season on Friday with a match against Bradley-Bourbonnais at Alton High School. Then on Saturday, the Redbirds host the inaugural Andy Simpson Doubles Invitational at Lewis and Clark Community College and Alton High School. The tournament includes local teams Alton, Roxana, Greenville, and Collinsville plus Rochester, Quincy Notre Dame, Bradley-Bourbonnais and Duchesne (MO). The format has five flights and features a lineup of the top ten players from each team.
“There are a lot of quality programs in the tournament and four or five teams that could win it," Alton head girls tennis coach Jesse Macias said. "But with teams needing ten players, it will come down to whoever has the most depth. We are really deep this year and the girls have been working hard all summer, so we excited about the weekend.”
The tournament is named for the late Andy Simpson, a well-known local tennis supporter who died last year. Coach Macias said: “Andy did so much for Alton tennis and was also a big supporter of Alton High School. Tournament central will be at the Andy Simpson Tennis Center at Lewis and Clark, which is appropriate, and we will be giving out sportsmanship awards for Andy also.
"We get to honor Andy with this tournament and Robert Logan with our September tournament. It’s our way of remembering two people who were passionate about the game and were adored by everyone in the area.”