Sandburg senior Estela Loureiro is back, and she has one goal in mind.
And it’s a big one.
She wants to win the IHSA Class 2A state tennis championship.
Last year, the Sandburg star took the high school season off to play in national tournaments in order to improve her college stock. She has verbally committed to Iowa.
While Loureiro was gone from the high school scene, York’s C.J. Coan beat Marist’s Helena Klooster in a classic 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 state championship match last fall. They were both juniors at the time but opted to skip their high school senior seasons.
Loureiro steps back in the picture this year and is ready for the challenge of winning it all.
“I’m feeling very confident but I’m also very humble,” she said. “I’m working my hardest to win it.
“I feel a lot different this year. I feel like I grew more in my tennis game and I have a lot more confidence. I have a better mental game. I’ve developed my shots a little more. And I’m a little smarter on the court, I would say.”
Loureiro took her first steps to achieving her goal by capturing the Stagg Sectional title on Oct. 16-17. She beat all four opponents 6-0, 6-0.
Seedings for the state tournament were scheduled to come out on Oct. 20. Sandburg coach Brian Ostrander said Loureiro had the highest Universal Tennis Rating in the state, which is a major criteria the IHSA uses.
The three-day state tournament is scheduled to start on Oct. 22 at various locations in the North and Northwest suburbs.
Loureiro has a 17-1 record this season with the loss coming in a doubles match. She is 17-0 in singles play.
“She’s hungry to get to the state tournament — she keeps talking about it,” Ostrander said. “She committed to Iowa and that’s a load off her mind and she really wants to do well at state.
“She really wants to win this thing.”
Loureiro and her older sister, Maia, made Sandburg history in 2023 by taking second in the state tournament in doubles. Estela finished in the consolation quarterfinals her sophomore year, losing to Klooster, 6-2, 6-4.
The Southwest Regional coverage area has not been rich for singles tennis champions.
Lyons is the only area school to bring home singles gold as Margie Lepsi won the title in 1991 and Lahari Yelamanchili won in 2016.
Marist won the team title at Stagg with 32 points, four better than Sandburg. Sandburg’s Molly Hardek and Claire Colby won the doubles title.
In other sectional play, Lyons freshman Jesse Janiak won the singles title at Hinsdale Central.
In Class 1A, Nazareth junior Isabella Gomez won the De La Salle Sectional singles title.