Metamora High School has a doubles tandem that will play for third place in the state Saturday, while Dunlap and Metamora were locked in a fourth-place tie in the chase for team trophies at the 2026 IHSA boys state tennis finals in the Chicago area.
The Eagles have a doubles tandem still alive, too, in Dunlap seniors Ethan Klemens and Harmin Patel. They play in the consolation semifinals Saturday.
Metamora senior tandem Tommy Sopko and Weston Lange battled into the championship bracket semifinals before being stopped by Deerfield’s Ryan Chernawsky and Blake Drexler 6-3, 6-2.
They will play for third place at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Here’s how Peoria area players fared in the state tournament through action Thursday and Friday:
Washington High School
◾Washington senior Charles Schermerhorn defeated Mascoutah’s Corbin Monfre 6-2, 6-3 in Class 1A action.
He lost a second-round match to Roman Stukov (Vernon Hills) 6-0, 6-0.
Schermerhorn then lost a tough consolation bracket match to Champaign St. Thomas More senior Wyatt Kirby 3-6, 6-3, (10-3).
Dunlap High School
◾Dunlap sophomore Ethan Laclef won his Class 1A opening match 6-1, 6-0, over Ryne Reatherford (Mt. Zion).
He lost to Champaign Centennial’s Samith Ramanath 6-1, 6-3. Laclef worked through three consolation bracket matches after that, beating Troy Triad’s John Cass 6-1, 1-6, (10-6) in the second round, then Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy’s Jonathan Farinas in the third round 6-1, 6-1, before elimination in the fourth round by Lake Forest senior Andrew Harris 6-2, 6-0.
◾Dunlap freshman teammate Michael Dresden dropped an epic opening match to Lake Forest freshman Gino Ventura 7-5, 2-6, (10-7).
He peeled off two wins in the consolation bracket, knocking out Crystal Lake Central’s Ryan Spencer 6-3, 6-3 and Crystal Lake South’s Bayel Muktar 6-2, 6-0.
Dresden exited in the consolation third round to Salem’s Jarett Rushing 6-0, 6-0.
◾Eagles senior doubles tandem Ethan Klemens and Harmin Patel opened state with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Tyler Dodson and Jonah Garlick (Herrin).
Next they knocked out Sycamore’s Easton Schuld and Sam Eich 6-4, 6-2. Then Klemens/Patel beat Grayslake North’s Chris George/Aidan Munday 7-5, 6-4 in the third round.
The Dunlap duo dropped a quarterfinal match to Deerfield’s Michael Cho and Elliott Kastin 6-2, 6-0. That dropped them into consolation quarterfinals, where they beat Metamora tandem Dane Hutchison and Hunter Poole 7-6 (5), 6-2 to gain a place in Saturday’s consolation semis.
They’ll face Mascoutah’s Jordan Beck and Eli Woodrome in that semifinal.
◾Dunlap doubles tandem of Noah Lippens and William Song won their first two matches, beating teams from Urbana and Troy Triad.
They ran into Metamora’s Sopko and Lange in the third round, and fell 6-2, 6-3.
Lippens and Song beat Holland’s Rex Holthaus and Parker Schol in the fourth round of consolation 6-7 (1), 6-2, (10-8).
They exited with a fifth-round loss to Chicago Latin’s Theodore Schlater and Jakob Kohn 6-4, 6-2.
Metamora High School
◾Metamora sophomore Matt Poole dropped an opening match to Bloomington High School’s Phillip Haning 6-3, 6-3.
Poole came back to beat Jacksonville’s Cole Nebel in consolations, then beat Jackson Dancer of Mahomet-Seymour 6-0, 6-1.
Poole exited consolation with a third-round loss to Chatham Glenwood’s Ben Loeffler 6-1, 6-2.
◾Redbirds doubles tandem of Dane Hutchison and Hunter Poole won its first two matches over teams from Teutopolis and West Chicago, then fell to Lake Forest duo Nick Schweitzer/Owen Kuehnle 6-0, 6-1 in the third round.
Hutchison and Poole won fourth- and fifth-round matches in consolation to reach the consolation quarterfinals, where they lost to Dunlap duo Klemens and Patel.
◾Sopko and Lange, meanwhile, knocked off tandems from Macomb and Lake Forest in the first two rounds. Then they took out Dunlap duo Noah Lippens and William Song 6-2, 6-3 in the third round.
They moved on to the state quarterfinals next, taking out Crystal Lake South’s Zeke Boldman and Eryk Bucior 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
The championship run ended with a loss to Ryan Chernawsky and Blake Drexler in the state semifinals.
They play at 8 a.m. Saturday for third place against Deerfield juniors Michael Cho and Elliott Kastin.
Morton High School
◾Potters doubles tandem of Tate Darcy and Joal Larson worked through four Class 1A matches at state.
They lost their opener to Troy Triad tandem Owen Litteken and Jackson Naylor, then put together a pair of wins in consolation over Urbana’s Xander Ashley and Theodore Nevins 4-6, 6-4, (10-6) and Prairie Ridge’s Rory Senese and Matt Jones 6-4, 6-7, (10-5).
Their state run ended in the third round of consolation with a loss to Macomb tandem Alex Simmons and Marc Simmons 6-2, 6-0.
Peoria Christian
◼ Doubles tandem Ian Durst and Samuel Loeb dropped a Class 1A opening round match 6-0, 6-0 to Kyle Fan and Jameson LaFave of Champaign University.
They exited with a 6-3, 6-2 loss in consolation to Flora’s Kyler Dennis and Luke Powless.
Richwoods High School
◼ In Class 2A, Richwoods sophomore Kace Tyler dropped his opening match to Chicago Payton’s Yash Kaushik 7-5, 6-2.
He was eliminated in the opening round of consolation by Wilmette Loyola Academy’s Arman Khadivar 6-3, 7-6 (4).
◾Richwoods sophomore and teammate Daniel Nathan played three matches deep into the championship bracket. He opened with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Huntley’s Rithwik Depala. Nathan won a three-set second-round duel with Edwardsville’s Brandon Wong 6-0, 1-6, (10-8).
He lost a third-round match to Algonquin Jacobs’ Samuel Santa Ines 6-3, 6-4.
Nathan dropped into consolation’s fourth round and ended his tournament with a three-set battle dropped to Park Ridge Main South’s Krysyian Kostov 6-7 (2), 6-0, (10-4).
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Metamora, Dunlap duel for top four finish in IHSA boys tennis state finals