State-Bound: Local tennis players ready for IHSA Finals this weekend

St. Thomas More’s Hunter Madigan wins sectional title; leads local field to IHSA state tennis finals.
St. Thomas More tennis star Hunter Madigan
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
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Officials find first instance of West Nile virus in Illinois

Public health officials are highlighting the importance of taking action to "Fight the Bite" during National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, which runs from June 18-24.

Mosquito biting someone's arm
Photo: Mohamed Nuzrath/Pixabay
by Mark Richardson
Illinois News Connection
CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Public Health said the first positive test for West Nile virus in 2025 has been detected in Winnebago County near Rockford.

Health officials warned people in the infected area and elsewhere to take precautions to avoid the mosquito-borne disease, which is expected to spread across the state. Last year, Illinois reported 69 cases of West Nile, with 13 reported human deaths.

Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said evidence of the disease usually emerges this time of year.

Most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes do not contract the disease.

"In Illinois, we typically see the first environmental positive test for West Nile in mid- to late May," Vohra explained. "Mosquitoes typically emerge in the spring and are active until the first hard frost of the year."

Vohra noted West Nile virus is an endemic disease in Illinois, meaning it is commonly found in the state. Public health officials are highlighting the importance of taking action to "Fight the Bite" during National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, which runs from June 18-24.

Vohra pointed out most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes do not contract the disease but one in five will show symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to a serious and possibly fatal illness.

"Right now, there's no treatment for West Nile virus," Vohra emphasized. "But supportive care is really important, especially if you're developing symptoms or you're that one of 150 people that can develop severe illness."

Public health officials have advised Illinoisians to wear long sleeves and pants outdoors, use Environmental Protection Agency-approved insect repellent and stay indoors during peak mosquito hours at dawn and dusk. They also recommend trying to keep mosquitoes from breeding.

"One way to do that is to dump any standing water," Vohra advised. "Examples of that include flowerpots, children's toys, pet bowls, bird baths, buckets, used tires, abandoned swimming pools, any place where you can get standing water."

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    Tagged: West Nile Virus detected in Illinois, Insect
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    Illinois lawmakers pass bill to raise age of senior driving tests

    New bill would allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities.

    Older driver on the road during a light rain
    Photo: Cheng Xiao/Unsplash

    Drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test says new bill waiting for the Illinois governor's signature.
    by Jade Aubrey
    Capitol News Illinois
    SPRINGFIELD - A bill unanimously passed by the Senate on Thursday and on its way to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk will increase the age that senior drivers in Illinois are required to take an annual driver’s test.

    Currently, if a driver renews their driver’s license between the ages of 79 and 80, they are required to take a driving test. Drivers between 81 and 86 are required to take a driving test every two years, and drivers 87 and older have to take the test annually.

    If Pritzker signs House Bill 1226, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, only drivers 87 and older will have to take an annual driver’s test. Illinois drivers between 79 and 86 won’t be required to take a driver’s test to renew their license; instead, they’ll only have to take a vision test, and if they have a driving violation, a written test.

    The bill would also allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities. Currently, only medical officials, police officers and state’s attorneys can submit such information.

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    • HB 1226, also called the Road Safety and Fairness Act, has garnered bipartisan support. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced his support for the bill in January alongside lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. The bill was conceived by a constituent of Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, last year.

    The bill has 86 cosponsors in the House and 35 in the Senate.

    Illinois is the only state that requires seniors to pass a driving test solely due to their age. But state data indicates that older drivers tend to have lower crash rates.

    In 2023, the crash rate for drivers aged 75 and older was 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, which was lower than any other age group, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The low crash rate has been consistent since at least 2018, according to the Secretary of State’s Office’s 2023 Study on Age-Related Driving Abilities.

    The crash rate is more than double for many of the other age groups.


    Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Jade Aubrey contributed to this article.


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