IHSA State Meet

The basics: Thursday starting at 9 a.m. through Saturday with Hersey High School and other neighboring schools serving as hosts.

Local interest: Dixon - Brooklyn Arjes, jr., singles; Rachel Lance, jr., Jenna Mustapha, so., doubles.

Advancing: The state tournament is double elimination. Players move on to the consolation bracket after a loss. The first three rounds of each bracket are played Thursday, weather permitting. On Friday, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the main draw and fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of consolation are played. The final round is played Saturday along with semifinal and final rounds of consolation.

Worth noting: The Duchesses are coming off a second straight sectional title after winning at Rochelle last weekend. It is the first time Dixon has won two straight sectional tennis titles since a run of three straight in 2003-05.

Lance and Mustapha were doubles champions while Arjes was runner-up in singles.

Lance said it has been a season of growth in the first year of playing doubles with Mustapha.

“I feel like I’ve improved significantly over the last few months,” she said. “I think we try to make every match enjoyable while wanting to execute and play well every time. We’ve played really good this season and we can both say we’ve improved.

“After almost qualifying last year, I was eager to qualify this year to prove more to myself than anything that I could accomplish what I wanted to do. I am excited to compete at the state level and I’m excited to be doing it with Jenna.”

“I believe that getting to know and adapting to each other’s strengths and weaknesses has helped us grow into a strong doubles team,” Mustapha said. “We are also good friends off the court, so I feel comfortable playing with her.

Lance and Mustapha face Lucia Hassebrock and Catalina Mosquera of Sacred Heart-Griffin in the first round in Class 1A. Arjes faces Deerfield senior Gale Harvey.

Arjes said it has taken some adjustment stepping into a No. 1 singles role this season.

“I played several singles tournaments over the summer to help. I also spent most days this summer at either the courts or gym to help me prepare for the season,” she said. “Qualifying for state was the main goal throughout my whole season, so being able to accomplish it was exciting and rewarding. I am very proud of our team for winning sectionals again this year. We were at the courts and gym all summer putting in the work, and now we see the results.”

Coach Jamie Brigl said the goal is just to enjoy the experience this weekend in their debuts.

“They all had success at sectionals last season, but just fell short. This year, they were all in new roles this season after losing a strong senior class,” she said. “Due to this, they have grown a lot in their new roles and continue to play better each week. I believe if they go out and just play tennis the way they know how, that they will be happy with their results.”

Arjes is 27-6 on the year. Lance and Mustapha went 23-10.

Last season at state, Dixon’s Grace Ferguson went 3-2 and reached the fourth round of consolation before falling via tiebreaker. She was the first Dixon girls singles player to reach the second day of state tennis. Addison Arjes went 2-2 and reached the third round of consolation last season.