The girls tennis team fought hard and finished off the season by placing fifth in the IHSA 1A state championship on Oct. 23-25 at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.

Five players competed at the state championship, which included 165 teams. The doubles teams were seniors Zoe Alphonse and Xia Nesbitt, and ninth graders Zahra Ansari and Anika Sadanand. Junior Sophia Holt played singles.

Sophia made it to the singles quarterfinals, and Anika and Zahra made it to the quarterfinals of the doubles consolation bracket.

One week earlier at the IHSA Sectionals championship, U-High placed first as a team with Sophia placing first in singles, and the doubles teams placing first and second.

Zahra, a first-timer at state, reflected positively on the experience of going with such a small group of people.

“The fact that it was a smaller team made it feel like a community,” Zahra said.

For Sophia, it was her third time going to state and even though she felt nervous, she leaned on her experience to stay confident.

Sophia said, “Train hard to prepare and play every match like it’s your last match, but also remember to enjoy the moment and appreciate being there because it really is a special tournament that not a lot of people get to play.”