St. Joseph-Ogden tennis rolls past St. Teresa in season opener

Spartans take five of six singles matches in road victory. Veterans Rice, Farber, and Helfrich start the season with stellar performances.

DECATUR — The St. Joseph-Ogden girls tennis team opened its season with a convincing 7-2 win on the road at St. Teresa, showing balance across the lineup in both singles and doubles play.

SJO SPORTS The Spartans secured five of six singles matches to set the tone early. Lily Rice, Madison Farber, Ainsley Rhoten, Avarie Dietiker and Audrie Helfrich all collected victories, with Helfrich cruising to an 8-0 sweep at No. 6 singles.

St. Joseph-Ogden added two more wins in doubles competition. The pairing of Kenley Ray and Karleigh Spain battled to an 8-6 victory at the No. 2 position, while Sophia Schmitz and Shelby Warnes delivered an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles.

St. Teresa earned its two points at the top of the lineup. Vinathi Marri defeated Samantha Kelso 8-4 at No. 1 singles, while Brooke Nelson and Nora Jerabek combined to take an 8-2 win over Ava Midkiff and Maddie Wells at No. 1 doubles.

With the early road test behind them, the Spartans demonstrated the depth of their roster and strong season potential.

Match Results

Team Score: St. Joseph-Ogden 7 - St. Teresa 2

Singles
No. 1 — Vinathi Marri (St. Teresa) def. Samantha Kelso (SJO) 8-4
No. 2 — Lily Rice (SJO) def. Brooke Nelson (St. Teresa) 8-1
No. 3 — Madison Farber (SJO) def. Nora Jerabek (St. Teresa) 8-4
No. 4 — Ainsley Rhoten (SJO) def. Xaniyah Todd (St. Teresa) 8-2
No. 5 — Avarie Dietiker (SJO) def. Addison Johnson (St. Teresa) 8-4
No. 6 — Audrie Helfrich (SJO) def. Audrey Cunningham (St. Teresa) 8-0

Doubles
No. 1 — Brooke Nelson / Nora Jerabek (St. Teresa) def. Ava Midkiff / Maddie Wells (SJO) 8-2
No. 2 — Kenley Ray / Karleigh Spain (SJO) def. Xaniyah Todd / Audrey Cunningham (St. Teresa) 8-6
No. 3 — Sophia Schmitz / Shelby Warnes (SJO) def. Addison Johnson / Tiarra Perry (St. Teresa) 8-3

St. Joseph-Ogden girls tennis 2025 season opener, SJO vs St. Teresa tennis results, Illinois high school girls tennis scores, Spartans tennis Decatur road win, St. Joseph-Ogden high school sports news

Unity soccer drops season debut, hosts St. Teresa next

Unity soccer dropped its opener 7-0 at Newton and returns home Tuesday to face St. Teresa in nonconference play.

NEWTON - Unity struggled to find its footing in its season debut, falling 7-0 to Newton on the road Monday. The Rockets managed just one shot on goal in the 80-minute contest as the Eagles, last year’s Little Illini Conference champions, controlled possession throughout.

Newton broke through early with goals from Samuel Rodriguez, Lance Volk, and freshman Daniel Falcioni, who added another in the second half. Anderson converted a penalty kick, while junior Henry Will scored in each half to round out the attack.

Unity soccer player Tyler Huntington dribbles the ball

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Unity's Tyler Huntington dribbles the ball in last regional semifinal against Monticello. He is one of five seniors leading the Rockets this season.

The Eagles, who finished 10-7-1 last season and went unbeaten in league play, return a deep roster of 21 players this fall.

Unity, coming off an 8-8-3 finish in 2024 and a fourth-place showing in the Illini Prairie Conference, has a mix of veterans and underclassmen looking to grow into bigger roles. Seniors Matthew Hollett, Tyler Huntington, McCaskill, Caden, and Emma Swisher anchor the lineup. Sophomores Joel Hoewing, Ian Skibbe, Logan Wells, and Jack White join the rotation along with freshman contributors Kenny Adcock, Konnor Bletscher, Luc Popovics, Dylan Stierwalt, Javy Zavala, and Ethan Zgura. Carter Cromwell is the squad’s lone member of the Class of 2027.

The Rockets won two league matches last year, defeating Monticello and Illinois Valley Central, and will look to build consistency in nonconference play. They return to action this afternoon, hosting St. Teresa (1-0) at 4:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday home match against Argenta-Oreana.

See more Unity sports articles and photos

Guest Commentary |
Will you turn to AI for companionship?

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

Artificial Intelligence, AI, is a wonderful tool for research and information. However, I don’t want my deepest relationship to be with a chatbot, chatgpt, robot or anything related to AI.

Glenn Mollette

There is a mega billion-dollar AI movement that is connecting people with their own personal AI bot who will be their dearest and best friend. Someone who cares, who is attentive and fulfills all their conversational needs regardless of the topic. I hope our planet doesn’t become so desperate for companionship that everyone starts spending hours every day talking to “something” that doesn’t really exist but is able to hold a conversation about any topic for hours on end without stopping.

So much of our world already lives in isolation. Millions, perhaps billions of people live in seclusion with their faces continually focused on their phones or tablets. We don’t call people on the telephone or visit them in person like we used to do. Now people can socialize even less as they may find their AI bot, configured to any personality or gender they desire, more interesting than talking to real people.

I am grateful that I have Jesus, my beautiful wife, family and people associated with my work to talk with. I would surely be sad if I felt that I had to turn to something mechanical for conversation.

Japan is already in a sad situation. Over 3000 men have married virtual girlfriends since 2017. One man, reportedly married his robot girlfriend, Gatebox’s Hologram Girl, in 2018. Japan does not recognize these as legal but symbolic marriages. Between now and 2065 Japan’s population is supposed to drop from 128 million to 88 million people.

There are several reasonsfor this including an aging population, low birth rate and limited immigration. A love life that is centered on a virtual character will do nothing to help their dwindling population.

In America our choices are growing. Realbotix robots are supposedly fully interactive and mobile. Lovot is a soft warm robot for emotional connection. Aibo is Sony’s AI-powered robot dog that learns and adapts to owners. Elliq is a robot that keeps elderly users active and engaged. Vector is a small robot that responds to voice commands. Kiki is an AI powered pet robot that recognizes faces. Ami is a caregiving robot that assists with daily activities. Amazon has Astro which is a home monitoring and smart assistant robot. The list goes on. Maybe, you are more interested now in one of these or something different that is certain to come.

The AI market is expected to reach $1.81 trillion by 2030, growing at a rate of 35.9 percent.

Artificial Intelligence is here and we can make it a great tool or allow it to become a negative influence in our lives. It’s kind of like television, pizza and candy bars. A little bit is good but we can overdo it as we can with most anything.

About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Bailey blasts Pritzker, Johnson amid Trump’s threat to send troops to Chicago

Darren Bailey blasts Pritzker and Johnson after Trump threatens troops in Chicago, tying law-and-order to his bid against Rep. Mike Bost.

Chicago lake front at night

Photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos/PEXELS

Residents enjoy a peaceful evening on lake front in Chicago. Despite violence has dropped over the past five years, President Trump has threatened to send military troops to the Illinois city to help police the city. Neither the city or the state have requested Federal assistance to help with law enforcement efforts.

LOUISVILLE - Former state senator Darren Bailey blasted Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson this week after President Donald Trump threatened to send U.S. troops to Chicago to address crime. Bailey, who lost his 2022 gubernatorial race to Pritzker and is now challenging fellow Republican Rep. Mike Bost in Illinois’ 12th District, accused Democratic leaders of ignoring public safety for political gain.

“If Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker try to block the National Guard from coming into Chicago, they should be thrown in jail. They are siding with criminals and putting politics ahead of the safety of families,” Bailey said in a statement. “Families are burying their children, businesses are shuttering, and entire neighborhoods live in fear. For Pritzker and Johnson to say there’s no emergency is disgraceful.”

Bailey has made law-and-order themes central to his campaigns, portraying Chicago as symbolic of failed Democratic leadership at both state and city levels. His comments come as Trump revived talk of federal intervention in Chicago, despite declining crime rates.

2017 Womens' March on Chicago — Thousands of protestors walk the streets of Chicago during the 2017 Womens March on Chicago. The demonstration brought more than 250,000 together people together on the first day of Trump's first term. Governor Pritzker and community leaders told the media troops are not wanted or needed on the streets of Chicago.

Speaking in the Oval Office after signing executive orders aimed at curbing cashless bail, Trump suggested the Pentagon was ready to act. “We can go anywhere on less than 24 hours’ notice,” Trump said. “They need help. We may wait. We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do.”

Later, Trump acknowledged he had not received a request from Illinois leaders. “I didn’t get a request from the governor,” he said. “Illinois is affected maybe more than anybody else. And I think until I get that request from that guy, I’m not going to do anything about it.”

Gov. Pritzker, joined by business and community leaders, dismissed Trump’s statements as political theater. He pointed to crime data showing marked improvements in Chicago this year. “There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention,” Pritzker said. “This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try to intimidate his political rivals.”

Pritzker defeated Bailey, earning a second term with 55% of the popular vote. The Pritzker is one of serveral contenders for the next presidential election.

City statistics show gun violence dropped 25% in the first half of 2025 compared with last year, and 41% below the average reported between 2020 and 2024. Homicides also fell below 2019 levels, before the nationwide surge that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.