Returning to state
With teammates who ‘always had my back,’ McSweeney leads Richards to South Suburban Red title
KaylaMcSweeney leads Richards to South Suburban Red title.
When Richards senior Kayla McSweeney graduates in June, she will be leaving behind quite a legacy.
On Oct. 10, she qualified for state, becoming the first girls tennis player at the school to do so four consecutive times.
She put an exclamation point on her high school career Wednesday by sweeping two matches 6-0, 6-0 and winning her third straight South Suburban Red title atNo. 1 singles.
She thanked the Illinois High School Association for holding a sectional tournament, which gave participants a chance to qualify for state— even if itwon’t be taking place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It meant everything,” McSweeney said. “That’s what I wanted to do after I qualifiedmy freshman year. Iwanted to make it four times. I’m so thankful that I got to do it again this year.”
She thanked her teammates for being supportive during her run to a 10-1 record.
“This team… we all supported and loved each other,” Mc
Sweeney said. “The ones not playing were always there to watch. They always had my back. I love them.”
She couldn’t have been more complimentary to Sandburg freshman Maia Loureiro, the only girl who beat her this season.
Loureiro defeated McSweeney 6-1, 6-2 in the Oak Lawn Sectional championship match.
“Oh, it was amazing,” McSweeney said. “I loved playing against her. I thought it was a great experience. And she’s so good. She really deserved it.”
McSweeney led the way for Richards in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs won the team title with 23 points. Reavis, led by No. 3 doubles champions Gabby Kulach and Karolina Rzepka, finished second.
Other conference champions for the Bulldogs were Meghan McSweeney at No. 2 singles and Thea Wyzykowski and Julie Casey atNo. 2 doubles.
It’s the end of an era for Richards in girls tennis and time for a trip back to the drawing board for coach Connor Reynolds.
“It’s real tough,” Reynolds said. “She is one of a lot of seniors I have to say goodbye to this year. I’ve been with the program for three years, so this is kind of that first group that I was with the wholeway.
“Kayla has obviously been leading the way. I just keep telling everyone that I have to learn how to coach now. I won’t have the benefit of riding her coattails. Luckily I have one more McSweeney in the chamber. But you don’t really replace someone like that.”
Make it three: Saniah Calvin and Roxanne Habbal didn’t know each other in 2018 when they enrolled at Shepard.
“We met on the first day of tennis practice,” Calvin said.
Guess who ended up being teamed together?
“We really had to create a bond and a relationship with one another,” Calvin said. “Yeah, it was kind of awkward in the first season. But we started to warm up to each other.”
And would become the Astros’ top doubles combination on the court.
Calvin and Habbal won the No. 1 doubles conference title as fresh men and sophomores. They defeated the Reavis duo of Sara Nemec and Karolina Radkosz 6-2, 6-1 Wednesday to win their third straight championship.
“It was a pretty big goal, especially with our season being a little off,” Habbal said. “We didn’t get to play many matches, so we wanted to make the most of them.”
Habbal is the fourth in her family to play tennis. Older sisters Rachel, Rhonda and Renee all competed for Shepard, with Rachel part of a doubles team that won four conference titles.
Did you know? Marian Catholic’s most decorated player was Gaby Rosales. A top singles player from2010 to 2013, Rosales was a three-time section al champion and the 2013 East Suburban Catholic Conference Player of theYear. Shealsowas a four-time state qualifier, earning a sixthplace medal in 2012. Shewent on to a four-year college career at theUniversity of Richmond.