The 2026 season for the South Lyon East High School Girls Varsity Tennis team has been one of the best seasons the program has had in years. The team finished the regular season with an 11-1 record and qualified for the State Finals for the first time in four years.
After all the hard work the girls put in this season, making it to states was a huge accomplishment for the whole team.
At regionals, South Lyon East had an incredible day and finished in second place overall behind Mercy High School Girls Tennis with 20 total points. The Cougars had strong performances in almost every flight and proved they could compete with some of the best teams within the region.
One of the biggest highlights of the tournament was junior Sharvani Bikkummalla winning the regional championship at 4 singles. She played great all day and stayed focused under pressure to bring home the title for South Lyon East. “I’m really proud of our team and how hard everyone worked this season,” Sharvani said.
The Cougars also had several other players make it to the regional finals. Sophomore Isla Tucker had a great tournament and after battling some tough matches and became a finalist at 2 singles. Senior Grace Stoyanovich also made the finals at 3 singles, and at 2 doubles, Chloe McNamara and Rayna Kim worked together to defeat cross town rivals South Lyon to also grab a spot in the finals.
Senior captain Julia Winter said the team’s success came from how close everyone became this season. “This team worked so hard from the beginning of the season,” Winter said, “Everyone pushed each other to get better every day, and qualifying for states after four years was such a big moment for us.”
Junior captain Aditi Kongara also talked about how much the team has improved throughout the season. “I think everyone really believed in each other this year,” Kongara said. “We stayed positive even during tough matches and kept pushing ourselves to improve. It’s exciting to see all our hard work pay off, especially making it to states together.”
This season also brought excitement because of the team’s new head coach. Coach Craig Clark has brought a lot of energy and positivity to the program, and the girls really connected as a team. Throughout the season, the team improved more and more each match, and it showed during regionals.
Grace Stoyanovich said the team chemistry was one of the biggest reasons for their success. “We all became really close this season,” she said, “Coach Clark made practices fun while still pushing us to work hard. Everyone supported each other, and I think that helped us play better.”
Now the Cougars are looking ahead to the state finals and are excited for what’s next. Even though the team has already had an amazing season, they are hoping to keep the momentum going at states. The players are excited for the opportunity to compete against the best teams all over the state.
