Depth of QHS girls tennis team provides options, strong start at Ottawa showcases it

QUINCY — After a few days of practice, Quincy High School girls tennis coach Mike Terry likes what he sees.

“We have a bunch of options,” he said. “So, we’ve got a lot of flexibility in both singles and doubles.”

It starts with the four returning letterwinners. Senior Audra Cain, juniors Lily and Phoebe Hayes and junior Ameila Willing.

Terry is excited to see the Hayes twins compete.

“Their athleticism is a huge part of it,” he said. “I mean, that’s kind of a cliché, but I feel like it’s there. They hit the ball very well. Very clean. And they both have great serves. That’s kind of propelled them from the beginning. They kind of brought that to the courts their freshman year. So, they’ve just continued to kind of evolve and get better.”

A couple of freshmen — Anika Reddy and Mary Dodd — could crack the varsity lineup as well.

“They were very pleasant surprises on the first couple of days of practice,” Terry said. “So yeah, they’re going to help us a lot.”

They already have. Reddy and Dodd teamed up to win the No. 2 doubles title at the season-opening Ottawa Night Light Invitational on Friday. The Blue Devils finished third as a team behind Elmhurst Timothy Christian and Ottawa.

Cain and Willing took third at No. 1 doubles, while Phoebe Hayes was third at No. 1 singles.

It’s a strong start with a tough schedule ahead, including two dual matches against both Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and Quincy Notre Dame. The Blue Devils also will play host to the Western Big 6 Conference Tournament on October 7-8 at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve hosted a conference tournament with the COVID years,” Terry said. “We look forward to that a lot. And it’s a little different format than it used to be. It was always a one-day tournament. But then, the last couple of years, they’ve switched it to a two-day tournament. So, Friday there’s two rounds and then Saturday two rounds. You have to at least get to the semifinals to play on Saturday.”

There is no better preparation for postseason play than the conference tournament.

“We are in the toughest sectional imaginable, in my opinion. short or Chicago, because we always go to the Edwardsville-Belleville area just like every other sport now,” Terry said. “So yeah, a tough conference is really important for us because we have to get ready to try to go to state.”