The Sentinel

Five Urbana players looking for a spot in the tennis state finals

DANVILLE - After the first day of competition at the Danville High School sectional, five area tennis players are in position to earn a spot in this year's IHSA Tennis State Finals.

Both of Urbana High School's doubles pairs advanced to the semifinal round on Friday.

Alisa Tangmunarunkit and Luna Morales, who earned the #1 seed, won both first-day matches in straight sets. The duo notched their first win 6-0, 7-6, over Watseka's Moriah Pueschell and Sarah Parsons. The two seniors then crushed Paris' Bella Moreschi and Myah Bartos, 6-1, 6-3.

Urbana's Lorelie Yau puts the ball away at the net during a doubles match against Centennial on August 30 at the beginning of the season. The senior, along with doubles partner Eisla Madigan (not pictured), won their first two matches at the Danville Tennis sectional on Friday. A semifinal win Saturday morning will guarantee a trip to the IHSA Tennis State Finals in Barrington next week.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Meanwhile, Tigers' teammates Lorelie Yau and Eisla Madigan, who also won their quarterfinal bout, defeated Emerson Barrett and Graci Watson in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-3. Yau and Madigan will face Mahomet-Seymours Savannah Amatyleon and Emily Young on Saturday, hoping to punch their ticket to the sectional title match.

Saturday, Tangmunarunkit and Morales take the court against Mahomet-Seymour's Adella Bird and Holland Martin, who are the #4 seed and have dropped just three out of 27 of their sectional tournament games.

Still alive in the singles bracket, University High's Kruthi Ramanath will play #3 seed Reese Rundle from Danville in a semifinal match. Ramanath served notice to all challengers, double bageling Paris' Ava Barrett in her second-round match and doing the same in the quarterfinal to Mahomet-Seymour's Emmie Flores.

Season ends for many talented players

Tiger's Grace Cody enjoyed a first-round bye in the singles bracket. Unfortunately, she ran into the #2 seed in her second-round match, falling quickly in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, to Vikings' Anna Houpt.

After winning her first match decisively, 6-0, 6-0, St. Joseph-Ogden senior Addison Seggebruch's prep tennis career came to a close after she fell 1 & 1 to Schlarman's Maya Jenny.

University High's Charlotte Lin started out on fire, cruising past Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley's Audrey Iverson in straight sets in her opening match, 6-1, 6-1. In her next match, Lin fell to Schlarman's Jenny, 6-0, 6-0, to the Hilltoppers' #4 seed.

Urbana's Alicia Garcia went 1-1 on opening day. She won her first-rounder over Schlarman's Anna Lehman, 6-1, 6-0. Her second-round match didn't go her way. Unable to notch a single game, she fell to Danville's Reese Rundle, 0 & 0.

Addison Ross' second-round match against Mahomet-Seymour's Emmie Flores was the only contest requiring a third set and a set tie-breaker to determine who advanced to the next round. After losing the first set, 6-3, Ross battled furiously to take the second set of the match 6-1. The St. Joseph-Ogden sophomore was narrowly defeated in the third set, falling 7-6 to Flores.

Doubles duo finished for the season

St. Joseph-Ogden sophomore duo Lily Rice and Caroline Aden fell 6-2, 6-1, to Mahomet-Seymour's Savannah Amatyleon and Emily Young.

Like Rice and Aden, SJO juniors Ellie Ward and MaKennah Hamilton saw their season end in the second round. After winning their opening match 6-0, 6-1, the pair lost a heartbreaker 7-6, 7-6, to Danville's Lexi Foley and Aliya Morgan.

Illini cross country squad takes second at Bradley meet

PEORIA – Earlier today, the Illinois men's cross country squad finished second at the Bradley Pink Classic.

Jack Roberts led the Illini contingent, collecting his third individual win on the season with a time of 24:08.4 in today's 8k race. Roberts, a senior, hasn't finished below second place in the final standings all year. The Downers Grove native also placed first at the Illini Open and the Gans Creek Classic at Columbia last month.

Alex Partlow extended his streak of top-10 finishes to four, crossing the finish line in fifth-place finish at 24:22.3. Teammate Brady Masters rounded out the top 10 for the Illini when he crossed 10th and clocked a 24:37.0. Later, Anthony Maida, a junior, made it across the line to give Illinois four finishers in the top 20. Turning in a time of 24:39.5, he finished 17th in the field of 199 runners.

The Illinois men's team finished with 120 points behind meet champions IUPUI (118) and enjoyed a 15-point advantage over Wichita State, who finished third. Host Bradley University finished in fourth place with 160 points, and Cincinnati rounded out the top five squads in the Red Division, earning 165 points.

World in chaos, talking to your child about the violence and terrible events as they unfold

Photo: Hosny Salah/Pixabay

by Shelli Dankoff
OSF Healthcare

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has left lives shattered with tragic images everywhere, and kids are watching.

News that could be confusing at best – or scary at worst – is circulating on-air and online, and many parents are left to wonder how to talk to their children about unsettling current events.

“The conversation really should be about the child. Give them permission to express their feelings. Make sure that they understand it’s important for them to be expressing their opinions, their viewpoints, their feelings. We want to make sure that they are hearing from us as the parent that we care about what they think. We care about what they are feeling,” explains Kyle Boerke, PsyD, an OSF HealthCare clinical child psychologist.

As information comes in, children may misinterpret what they hear, and might be frightened by something they don’t understand. Dr. Boerke says the first step parents should take is to simply ask kids what they know, and then talk about it truthfully, in a way that is appropriate for the age and developmental level of their child.

“We want them to know the information that I am giving to them is something that they can trust that is accurate. So if they are hearing me fiddle with the truth one way or another and they have a teacher at school that is having a conversations with them, that is going to put kind of a doubt in their head. So it is important to be open and honest with them at that age appropriate level. That way they know that they can trust you as a parent and your discretion,” he says.

And while the topic of the day might be divisive, parents can use the current environment as a teaching opportunity. Dr. Boerke reminds us that our kids are watching our reactions to current events and how we treat those with differing opinions or outlooks.

“We have the ability to model how we agree with or how we disagree with something in an appropriate way, and especially in a time like this when the country is so divided, that is a really important thing for us to model – appropriate ways to disagree or have different opinions from other people,” urges Dr. Boerke.

And Dr. Boerke says one of the most important things a parent can do is to reassure kids that they are safe.

During unsettling times, sometimes kids can have trouble coping. Dr. Boerke says signs of that include changes in behavior like nightmares, a child not sleeping, new fears, a lack of concentration or unusual moods.

If a parent notices these changes are ongoing, and talking with the child doesn’t seem to alleviate the fear, Dr. Boerke suggests speaking to your child’s pediatrician to get a referral to a behavioral health provider.

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Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks