Thursday’s Varsity Results
Girls Tennis
Stevenson at IHSA State Tournament: The Kolli sisters, sophomore Alaina Kolli and senior Athena Kolli won their first three doubles matches on the opening day of the three-day tournament, advancing to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year. Their victories helped propel the Patriots to fourth place in the team standings with 12 points, behind Lake Forest (24), and Hinsdale Central and New Trier (18). Athena and Alaina, who finished second in the state last fall, are a 5-8 seed this year. They dispatched Kathryn Murphy and Anna Raab of Highland Park, 6-1, 6-1, in the third round at Rolling Meadows High School after earlier victories over duos from Neuqua Valley (6-2, 6-2) and Downers Grove South (6-0, 6-0). The Kollis will take on another pair of sisters, top-seeded Sienna Lopez and Shannele Lopez from Glenbard West, in this morning’s quarterfinals. One of Stevenson’s other three state entries is still alive in the consolation bracket. Freshman Sonia Mehta, who was the team’s No. 1 singles player this year, won her first match at Barrington over Grace Walls of Normal (6-1, 6-0), then fell to Nicole Hu of Hinsdale Central (6-2, 6-2) and moved into the consolation bracket. Sonia rebounded with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kayla McSweeney of Richards, advancing to the consolation bracket third round today. The Patriots’ other qualifiers were knocked out of the tournament with a pair of losses. Freshman Ainika Hou defeated Nicole Micklin of Marist, 7-5, 6-3 at Elk Grove in the first round, then dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to 5-8 seed Autumn Rabjohns of Lake Forest in the second. Ainika was eliminated with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Metea Valley’s Meera Baid in the consolation second round. Seniors Maggie Gong and Ellen Ma dropped their opening doubles match at Conant to 5-8 seed Ashtin Hara and Monika Glueck from New Trier, 6-1, 6-0. They bounced back to record a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Nikki Baerson and Lara Pick of Glenbrook North in the first round of the consolation bracket, then lost to Sam Kim and Sofia Hutchison of Barrington, 6-3, 2-6, 10-6. – Official Results | Daily Herald
Girls Swimming and Diving
Stevenson 107, Lake Forest 88: The visiting Patriots (7-0, 6-0) captured the North Suburban Conference regular-season championship and capped a perfect dual-meet schedule. Junior Alex Eastmond won two individual events, and classmate Jessica Nyborg captured one event and swam on two first-place relays for the visiting Patriots. Alex touched first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.22) and 500-yard freestyle (5:20.48), while Jessica won the 200 individual medley (2:10.65). Jessica also swam in the 200 medley relay (1:51.99) with freshmen Camila Maya and Abigail Collins, and sophomore Katherine Makarska, and in the 200 free relay (1:40.39) with freshman Isabelle Gattone and seniors Lucy Stevens and Maddy O’Donnell. Maddy had Stevenson’s other individual event victory in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.39). Head coach Kevin Zakrzewski (Class of 2000) and his squad competes in the Deerfield Invitational on Saturday, then will seek a fourth straight NSC Championships title next weekend.
Girls Volleyball
Stevenson d. Libertyville, 25-22, 25-27, 25-12: The host Patriots (21-14) earned a share of the North Suburban Conference championship by handing the Wildcats (25-10) their first league loss. Both schools finished 6-1 in the NSC. Sophomore Amanda Holsen had 17 kills to lead SHS and senior Lily Cozzi added nine. Junior Emerson Kouri served five of the team’s 10 aces, while senior Grace Tully had three. Grace also went 76-of-77 setting with 27 assists, and added a team-high 12 digs. Junior Emma Potocki had three kills, two solo blocks and three block assists, while sophomore Olivia Barreca contributed 10 digs. Thursday’s match first began Sept. 11, but was suspended after the first set due to a tornado warning. The match also was the regular-season finale for Stevenson, which will play Waukegan in the Palatine Regional semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. – Daily Herald
Stevenson’s football team faces a must-win situation tonight, and so does its opponent. The 4-4 Patriots must defeat Lake Forest on the road if they want to extend the school’s state-record streak of making the IHSA playoffs, which currently stands at 30 consecutive seasons. The Scouts, meanwhile, also are 4-4 and seeking the school’s 10th straight berth. Both schools have amassed enough playoff points (SHS has 44 and LFHS has 40) to qualify for the state playoffs with a fifth victory. The IHSA will announce playoff pairings at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tonight’s game can be seen online on Stevenson’s NFHS Network page (subscription required) beginning at 7:30. The junior varsity contest also will be streamed live; kickoff is set for 5 o’clock.
Halloween Costumes: What You Can, Can’t Wear
Students and staff can wear Halloween costumes to school. Because the school wants the day to be a fun and safe experience for everyone, anyone wearing a Halloween costume must adhere to a few long-standing school rules. These rules include:
- No face coverings such as masks, disguising make-up, or sunglasses;
- No double-meaning suggestive phrases on clothing or anywhere on the person;
- No inappropriate props such as look-alike weapons.
The rules are in effect not only during the school day but also during any after-school activity or event on campus next Thursday.
ATHLETICS
Tryouts for the competitive dance season will take place at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Field House. New athletes and athletes with experience are encouraged to attend! Use this link to register. Contact Coach Piekarski-Cook at kpiekarski@d125.org with any questions.
The sophomore boys basketball informational meeting takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Field House. If you cannot attend, please contact Coach Gustin at ngustin@d125.org.
ILLINOIS EDUCATION NEWS
A Cook County judge will listen to arguments today for a temporary restraining order that could allow some Chicago Public School student athletes to compete in state playoffs. The families of 14 cross country runners at Jones College Prep filed a lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association and Chicago Public Schools. They are challenging IHSA policy that bans athletes from state tournaments when school is not in session due to a strike.
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board members named current Associate Superintendent for Instruction Lisa Small the district’s next superintendent late Thursday night after meeting in closed session for more than four hours. Small will succeed retiring Superintendent Dan Cates on July 1.
The Waukegan Board of Education voted 6-1 this week to extend the contract of Superintendent Theresa Plascencia by three years through June 30, 2024. Under the amended deal, Plascencia will receive additional benefits, such as more vacation days, but there will not be a change to her salary.
Illinois has 43 “divisive school district borders,” according to a group seeking to modernize school funding systems. These are boundaries where schools have more students of color and receive significantly less per-pupil funding than those schools on the other side that serve mostly white students, and have more financial resources.
A Burlington Central District 301 school bus aide has been charged with allegedly striking a special needs student in the face and knocking out two of his teeth. Prosecutors in Kane County say the aide allegedly dragged the student to his seat and hit him in the face after he refused to move when he was told he couldn’t have a juice box on the bus.
A former Huntley School District 158 security guard was acquitted Wednesday on a misdemeanor battery charge alleging that he pushed another guard. McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt found the accused guard not guilty, citing a lack of evidence to prove the altercation occurred.
NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education were held in civil contempt by a federal judge on Thursday for violating an order to stop collecting loan payments from now-defunct Corinthian College. The Department of Education had been ordered to stop collecting on the federal loans of students who attended the school, which closed in 2015. However, the department disclosed it had continued to garnish wages and seize tax returns of thousands of borrowers. The federal judge also imposed a $100,000 fine for violating the order.
After a series of tornadoes damaged seven elementary schools, Dallas school district officials have relocated almost 3,000 students into temporary arrangements. A 7,600-seat sports arena was transformed into makeshift classrooms for more than 1,000 students from three schools.
The University of Missouri athletics department this week posted a graphic on social media it intended to be inspirational, but which instead resulted in a backlash and an apology. The tweet featured photographs of several members of Mizzou’s intercollegiate athletics teams, with the athletes supposedly completing the phrase “I am …” Responses from white athletes included “I am a future doctor,” and “I am a future corporate (financier).” Responses from black athletes, however, were “I am an African American woman” and “I value equality.” Many on social media criticized the graphic as being racist and insensitive.
Stevenson Daily Digest 