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Here are the 13 players on the Journal Star all-area boys tennis team and player of the year

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Here are the 13 players on the Journal Star all-area boys tennis team and player of the year

PEORIA — Good things came in twos for the Dunlap boys tennis team in 2024 as their powerful doubles tandem carried them to a historic season in the Illinois High School Association Class 1A state finals.

Senior Shaan Kashyap partnered with junior Ethan McRaven and advanced to the state 1A championship match to carry Dunlap to a second-place team trophy. Their runner-up finish was among the best for a Peoria-area tandem in 37 years. Dunlap rode those points to a second-place trophy in the team race, joining the Eagles’ 2017 team as the only teams from the Peoria area to finish in the top two at state in the last 73 years.

Silver lining: Dunlap finishes second statewide at IHSA Class 1A boys tennis finals

The 2024 Journal Star Boys Tennis Players of the Year is the doubles team of Dunlap’s Kashyap and McRaven. They headline an all-area team that includes the Peoria area’s top singles player, Morton senior Carter Kendall.

Here’s a look at the all-area team:

Shaan Kashyap and Ethan McRaven, Dunlap

The Journal Star boys tennis Player of the Year was a doubles tandem that won 17 straight matches and 29 of 30 before losing in the state championship match.

Kashyap, a senior, and McRaven, a junior, led all doubles teams in the state with 37 wins, and did not lose a match to a Peoria-area foe all season.

Both players earned IHSA all-state first-team honors and were Mid-Illini Conference first-team selections. They qualified for state by winning the Dunlap Sectional championship.

“They (the whole team) responded to the coaching, the work put in by the players, the coaching staff, everyone bought in,” Dunlap coach Pat Gornik said two weeks ago. “It’s fun to watch this team play.”

McRaven’s father, Steve, was an assistant coach for Dunlap. He was a doubles star at Richwoods, where he teamed with Matt Maris for a fourth-place state finish in 1986.

Carter Kendall, Morton

The terrific departing senior went 27-3 in singles play to finish 48-12 in singles matches over his final two prep seasons and 66-15 in singles and doubles play combined.

Kendall won the Dunlap Sectional singles title to get to state, where he reached the consolation quarterfinals to finish in the 13-16 block of players and earn IHSA All-State second-team honors for the second straight postseason.

He was a Mid-Illini Conference first-team selection, also appearing in 10 doubles matches in 2024 with a 9-1 mark.

IHSA state qualifiers: Every Peoria-area tennis player to advanced to the IHSA boys state finals

Alex Fei, Dunlap

The junior went 30-10, with his only losses in the Peoria area to Kendall in a pair of three-set battles. Fei earned Mid-Illini Conference first-team honors, was second in the Dunlap Sectional and went on to reach the fifth-round consolation slot at the state tournament and draw an IHSA all-state second-team selection.

Hudson Shaw and Tommy Sopko, Metamora

Shaw, a senior, and Sopko, a sophomore, went 13-2 together as doubles partners, with their only two losses at state.

Sopko was 30-12 as a doubles player. Shaw opened as a singles player and was 14-12 in that role. But in doubles he was 24-3.

Shaw served in a key leadership role at Metamora and switched between doubles and singles multiple times over the last two seasons to help the team. He was a Mid-Illini Conference first-team selection, while Sopko earned second-team honors.

When Metamora switched its lineup with an eye ahead to the state tournament, it put Shaw with Sopko and the tandem won the LaSalle-Peru Sectional. They battled to the fifth-round consolation stage at the state tournament, earning IHSA all-state second-team honors.

Timothy Liu, Dunlap

The senior went 33-7 in singles play for the 28-9 Eagles. His victory total was the second-highest for singles players in Illinois this season. Thirteen of his wins were against state qualifiers.

Liu earned Mid-Illini Conference first-team honors and went on to state, where he lost in the third round of the championship draw to state champion Nick Patrick of Rock Island Alleman. He was eliminated in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.

Connor Watson, East Peoria

The junior went 19-7 as East Peoria’s No. 1 singles player and was a Mid-Illini Conference first-team pick. He lost to Dunlap’s Timothy Liu in the third round of the Dunlap Sectional and did not qualify for state.

Asa Olden and Boaz Olden, Morton

Asa, a senior, played a mix of singles and doubles to put together a 34-14 record. He teamed with his brother, Boaz, a junior, to form the Potters’ No. 1 doubles team and finish third in the Dunlap Sectional, earning a trip to state. They were knocked out in the consolation fourth round at state. Asa Olden earned Mid-Illini Conference second-team honors.

Andrew Choy and Noah Li, Dunlap

Choy, a junior, and Li, a senior, teamed for the Eagles’ No. 2 doubles team and went 35-8. They finished second in the Dunlap Sectional — where they played teammates Kashyap and McRaven for the title in a feel-good team-building exercise — to get to state.

Both earned Mid-Illini Conference second-team honors, and at state they earned IHSA all-state second-team honors when they made it to the consolation fifth round, where they were eliminated on a third-set tiebreaker.

Preseason list: Here are the top 8 Peoria-area boys high school tennis players to watch for 2024

Dane Hutchison, Metamora

The sophomore had a combined 35-15 record as the Redbirds’ primary No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles player. Hutchison helped Metamora to the LaSalle-Peru Sectional title when he played in the singles draw and finished runner-up to qualify for state. He earned Mid-Illini Conference first-team honors and went 1-2 at the state tournament.

Honorable mention

Joe Campbell, Morton senior (21-4, M-I 2nd team); Matt Savage, Washington senior (M-I 2nd team); Aidan Mulcahey, Pekin senior (M-I 2nd team); Weston Lange, soph/Jack Hessing, jr Metamora (No. 1 doubles, 39-11, qualified for state); Ryan Klopfenstein, jr/Joal Larson, soph, Morton (No. 1 doubles, 31-15, qualified for state).

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

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