The Beacon Academy tennis team tied for eighth place in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state championship this past weekend at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. This historical feat came on the shoulders of junior Peter Adams-Agresti, who advanced all the way to the final match, earning second place in the event.
Adams-Agresti fell in his final match of the season to eventual State Champion freshmen Max Braun of Centennial High School (Champaign) in two sets. It was Adam-Agresti’s only loss of the season.
The match began shortly after the 8 a.m. start time on Saturday morning. The first set would not end until approximately 9:52 a.m. The two competitors exchanged volleys all the way to a tie-breaker. Adam-Agresti dropped the first set 7-6 (4). The next set would not extend to the same time frame. Adams-Agresti dropped the second set (6-2), earning State Runner-Up honors.
He displayed precision tennis throughout his three rounds. His first round victory over Curt Robinson of Carbondale High School went (6-1), (6-0). His second round win over Brecken Peterson of Sterling High School ended (6-0), (6-0). His third round opponent, James Theriault of Nazareth Academy, was the first to take three games from Adams-Agresti. That match ended in victory (6-3), (6-0).
On day two, Adams-Agresti opened the quarterfinal round against Luke Welker of Burlington Central High School. Beacon won the first set (6-1) but would be tested throughout, winning (7-6), and setting up a semifinal matchup against the overall No. 1 seed, Sujan Garapati of Chicago Latin School.
Garapati exploded to a (6-1) victory in the first match. However, Adams-Agresti’s slow start only lasted one set. He picked up the second and third set, (6-2), (6-2) respectively, setting up his championship match against Braun.
After the tournament, Adams-Agresti said, “Going into the tournament, I was worried I would be rusty as I had to travel for family purposes leading up to it. I felt more and more comfortable as the tournament went on. Obviously, I would’ve liked to have won, but I played as hard and as smart as I could. I am not upset with the outcome.”
Adams-Agresti put together a historical run throughout his junior season, not giving up a single set until the finals of the Sectional Tournament at Vernon Hills. He finished a perfect three and zero on the day, eventually earning the No. 4 seed in the State Tournament.
Adams-Agresti became the first state placewinner and state finalist in Beacon Academy school history.
