With Week 3 voting closed, check back Sunday to see how accurate this week's guesses were to the real thing. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, a proud alum, or just love the spirit of high school football, Friday Night Forecast brings the fun of the season straight to area prep football fans.
Think you know who will win? Drop back by on Monday to cast your picks for the Week 4 Friday Night Forecast!
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Bloomington 19, Normal University 14
Centennial 8, Central 6
Danville 12, Urbana 7
Normal Community 35, Normal West 22
Peoria 58, Peoria Notre Dame 31
Richwoods 28, Manual 14
Centennial topped Urbana 6-3 at Blair Park Thursday, rebounding from a loss to Mahomet-Seymour with key singles and doubles wins.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Chargers' Ria Modi keeps the ball in play during Centennial's home match against Mahomet-Seymour. Modi, who lost that match, pulled off a commanding win over Urbana's Elianna Lee to reset her win streak.
URBANA - Coming off a loss to local emerging girls tennis powerhouse Mahomet-Seymour, Centennial put another mark in the win column Thursday with a 6-3 road victory over Big Twelve Conference opponent Urbana.
The Chargers (2-4) leaned on their top players to lead the way. No. 1 singles standout Ria Modi and No. 2 Taylor Diep, both looking to rebound from Labor Day setbacks, did just that by sweeping their singles matches and later teaming up with partners to take doubles wins as well. Modi paired with Romi Sagiv to win at No. 2 doubles, while Diep joined forces with Krisha Patel to claim No. 1 doubles.
Patel also delivered a dramatic win in singles at the No. 3 spot, outlasting Urbana’s Ananyah Tangmunarunkit in a tense third-set tiebreaker, 14-12. Sagiv added a straight-set victory at No. 4 singles to give Centennial a strong showing across the middle of the lineup.
Centennial will return home Thursday to host crosstown rival Champaign Central at Lindsay Courts, looking to secure bragging rights among Champaign-Urbana’s three large school programs.
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McLean, Marshall and the Tangmunarunkit/Aksimentyeva duo claimed wins for Urbana in a 6-3 loss to Champaign Centennial.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Alisa Aksimentyeva lunges forward to hit an approach shot while playing with partner Anyssa Tangmunarunkit during last Tuesday's match against St. Joseph-Ogden. The sophomore picked up another varsity win with Tangmunarunkit on Thursday against Centennial.
URBANA – On an unseasonably cool Thursday at Blair Tennis Courts, Urbana’s girls tennis team notched three match victories but came up short against Champaign Centennial, falling 6-3 in a home dual.
The "A-Team", Freshman Anyssa Tangmunarunkit and sophomore Alisa Aksimentyeva, extended their momentum in doubles, securing their second straight win together. After surviving a tight first-set tiebreaker, the pair rolled to a commanding 6-0 finish in the second to close out Centennial’s No. 3 tandem.
Earlier at singles, Urbana junior Gwen McLean continued her steady play at No. 5, earning her second consecutive victory with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Asma Cheema. Senior Simone Marshall added another point for the Tigers, battling her way to a straight-set victory at No. 6 singles with a 7-5, 6-4 result.
Despite the loss, Urbana (1-2) showed growth coming off its season-opening win against St. Joseph-Ogden. The Tigers will stay at home Tuesday to host St. Thomas More before heading on the road Thursday for a matchup with Watseka.
TAGGED: Urbana girls tennis 2025, Urbana vs Centennial tennis match, Blair Park Urbana sports, Urbana High School tennis results, Illinois high school girls tennis scores
Boasting a nearly perfect prediction, Alan is our Big Twelve winner from Week 1, guessing six of seven outcomes correctly. Below are the results from Week 1 of the Sentinel’s inaugural Friday Night Forecast.
Week 1 Results
Rank
Name
Record
Notes
1
Alan
6-1
Week 1 winner
2
Clark
5-2
His crystal ball may be cracked
Cumulative Standings
Rank
Name
Total Record
Wins
Notes
1
Alan
6-1
1
Week 1 winner
2
Clark
5-2
0
Week 1 Results
Champaign Central vs Springfield
Alan: Champaign Central .::. 36-14 Clark: Springfield H.S. .::. 27-14
Alan: Normal Community .::. 45-13 Clark: Normal Community .::. 14-7
Normal Community 40, Richwoods 6
Peoria Manual vs Normal University
Alan: Normal University .::. 42-18 Clark: Normal University .::. 21-14
Normal University 71, Peoria Manual 22
Normal West @ Peoria Notre Dame
Alan: Normal West .::. 41-28 Clark: Peoria Notre Dame .::. 28-24
Normal West 34, Peoria Notre Dame 14
Centennial vs Peoria
Alan: Peoria .::. 46-21 Clark: Peoria .::. 24-21
Peoria 42, Centennial 0
Urbana vs St. Teresa
Alan: St. Teresa .::. 40-8 Clark: St. Teresa .::. 35-14
St. Teresa 29, Urbana 7
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Centennial fell to Mahomet-Seymour 9-0 on Monday. The Chargers head to Urbana's Blair Park to take on the Tigers in a conference match.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Chargers' Ria Modi lunges after the ball during her match against Mahomet-Seymour's Adella Bird. Modi fell in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
CHAMPAIGN – The Centennial girls tennis team could not keep pace with Mahomet-Seymour on Labor Day, dropping a 9-0 decision in a nonconference dual at Lindsey Courts.
The Chargers (1-5) entered the contest fresh off a 7-2 Big 12 Conference win over Bloomington, but the Bulldogs (3-1) took control from the outset. The match began shortly after the conclusion of the Champaign Park District’s annual Labor Day Tournament, with Mahomet-Seymour winning all six singles and three doubles contests.
The closest match of the day came at No. 2 doubles, where Centennial’s Modi and Zumwalt pushed Flores and Gowler to a first-set tiebreak before the Bulldogs secured the win in straight sets.
Centennial looks to bounce back when it travels to Urbana for a conference matchup at Blair Park. Mahomet-Seymour, meanwhile, improved to 3-1 overall in dual meet competition.
Full Results
Final Team Score: Mahomet-Seymour 9, Champaign Centennial 0
CHAMPAIGN - Centennial's Taylor Diep hit a two-hand backhand shot over the net during her match against Mahomet-Seymour's Haley Reed during the Chargers' home match on Labor Day. Diep, a junior, fell in straight sets at #2 Singles 6-0, 6-0. Next up, Centennial travels to Blair Courts in Urbana today to take on the Tigers at 4:30 p.m. The Chargers lost the dual meet 9-0 to the visiting Bulldogs. More stories ~
Senior Kyree Hillsman carries the ball in the Tigers' home game against St. Teresa at Urbana's McKinley Field on Friday. This week, Urbana takes on the Danville Vikings on the road for their first Big Twelve matchup of the season. Use the form below to give us your pigskin picks for Week 2 in the Big Twelve.
URBANA - The Sentinel kicks off its new weekly feature, the Friday Night Forecast, inviting Big Twelve football fans to test their prediction skills throughout the regular season. In our opening poll for Week 1, just two entries were submitted, but early results showed strong consensus. Fans were unanimous on the winners in four of the seven conference matchups, including tonight’s opener with Champaign Central hosting Springfield.
Below are the picks from the Sentinel’s inaugural Friday Night Forecast.
Week 1 predictions
Champaign Central vs Springfield
Alan: Champaign Central .::. 36-14 Clark: Springfield H.S. .::. 27-14
Alan: Normal Community .::. 45-13 Clark: Normal Community .::. 14-7
Peoria Manual vs Normal University
Alan: Normal University .::. 42-18 Clark: Normal University .::. 21-14
Normal West @ Peoria Notre Dame
Alan: Normal West .::. 41-28 Clark: Peoria Notre Dame .::. 28-24
Centennial vs Peoria
Alan: Peoria .::. 46-21 Clark: Peoria .::. 24-21
Urbana vs St. Teresa
Alan: St. Teresa .::. 40-8 Clark: St. Teresa .::. 35-14
Big Twelve football predictions 2025, Central Illinois high school football picks, Friday Night Forecast Sentinel, Week 1 Illinois prep football forecasts, Champaign Central vs Springfield predictions
URBANA - As area teams compete for a spot in the 2025 IHSA football playoffs, we invite you each week to put your football instincts to the test with our new Friday Night Forecast. Join us in predicting Big Twelve wins and upsets.
With the conference kickoff set for Thursday, Aug. 28, we’ve opened voting early to get the ball rolling and see which Central Illinois teams you believe will start the season with a win.
Submit your picks for the opening week forecast below and see how your calls stack up against fellow Big Twelve fans each Friday morning throughout all nine weeks of the regular season.
More stories ~
Illinois football names six captains for the 2025 football season
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St. Thomas More’s Hunter Madigan wins sectional title; leads local field to IHSA state tennis finals.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
St. Thomas More's Hunter Madigan plays in last year's park district Labor Day tournament. The junior won last weekend' sectional title and heads to the IHSA state tournament this weekend to face the best players in Illinois. CHAMPAIGN - Three singles players and three area doubles teams are set to represent the Champaign-Urbana area at the IHSA Boys Tennis State Finals, which begin Thursday across the Chicago suburbs.
St. Thomas More junior Hunter Madigan headlines the local contingent after capturing the Class 1A sectional singles title last weekend at Centennial High School. Madigan cruised through the bracket, dropping just two games in three straight-set victories. He opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Luke Abadeer of Cornerstone Christian Academy, then handled Urbana University's Swapnil Kumar 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Madigan faced University High’s Jameson LaFave in a highly anticipated battle between two of the area’s top four singles players. Madigan prevailed 6-3, 6-1 to claim the sectional crown.
"My opponent played very well," LaFave said recounting the championship match. "Hunter Madigan hit some great shots, stayed consistent, and ran me out of the match."
Despite the loss, LaFave showed maturity beyond his years after the loss.
"It was a good fight in the opening set. He was just the better player that day. It was a tough loss," he said. "You got to learn from them and move on to state."
LaFave, a freshman in his first varsity season, still secured a state berth along with three U-High teammates. Senior Robert Gao and junior Kyle Fan qualified for the doubles draw, while Kumar advanced with a third-place singles finish.
Madigan will open state play against Dunlap's Harmin Patel. LaFave, seeded No. 15 in the 1A bracket, draws Brother Rice freshman Nathan Miller. Kumar faces Andrew Mumford of Marmion Academy in the first round, while Gao and Fan will take on Wauconda's Sean Lenhart and Marshawn Gallego.
Chargers' doubles team joins area players at state
Centennial seniors Tyler Luchinski and Ryder Perry also punched their ticket to state, placing second in doubles at their home sectional. They begin the tournament against Althoff Catholic seniors Joe Hamilton and Braden Gasawski.
Three Maroons ready to battle for a podium spot
Central senior Abel Vines enters the tournament with momentum and a sparkling 29-1 record. Vines dominated the Springfield sectional without dropping a game in eight sets and opens his state run against Oswego East's Pranav Kannan.
Rounding the list of high school players heading to state are Central’s doubles team of Daniel Canivez and Sohum Gurrapu, who also secured a spot at state after winning the sectional title. They’ll face Minooka's Eli Chavez and Evan Lundeen, who finished third at the Lincoln-Way East sectional.
Tagged: IHSA Boys Tennis State Finals 2025, Champaign-Urbana high school tennis, Hunter Madigan tennis St. Thomas More, Abel Vines Central High tennis, Illinois high school tennis tournament, U-High Jameson LaFave state tennis
URBANA - This week's prediction poll for the Friday Night Forecast is closed. Here are this week's picks from area sports soothsayers.
