Dec. 7—DANVILLE — While Reese Rundle took a moment to think about her favorite part of this past girls’ tennis season, Anna Houpt knew just where to go.
“The whole state experience is unmatched, but specifically Saturday at state is always a great experience,” Houpt said. “You’re grateful to make it that far, and after that, whatever happens, you have something to be proud of.”
By this point, Rundle had her response, but she waited for her teammate to finish.
“This year, it was surreal. Our first match on Saturday, I don’t think we’ve ever played like that,” Houpt continued, pausing to laugh after Rundle admitted she stole her answer. “We were just on a mission, and we knew we had nothing to lose.”
That didn’t change Rundle’s sentiment. In fact, it only reinforced it.
“The way we played, I don’t know what happened, but we were playing so well,” Rundle added. “If it was any other way, it would have been close. I’m grateful that we played our best and had that determination to win. That was fun playing that well.”
The match they were both referencing was their Class 1A state doubles quarterfinal against Hinsdale South’s Hailey Goins and Teodora Savic, a match the Danville duo convincingly won 6-2, 6-0.
That advanced the Vikings to the semifinals, where they fell 6-2, 6-1 to eventual state champions Shane Delaney and Clare Lopatka from Benet Academy. Houpt and Rundle then took down Benet Academy’s second team of Natalie Grover and Katie Jendra 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the consolation match, giving them third place, the highest state placement in Danville tennis history.
It also earned them co-News-Gazette Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year honors, just the third time in the award’s 21-year existence that it’s gone to a pair, following Centennial’s Madison Scaggs and Victoria Gonzalez in 2016 and St. Thomas More’s Noelle Schacht and Maddy Swisher in 2019.
“It’s been fun to watch,” said Kathy Houpt, Danville’s coach and Anna’s mom. “They were a team, they were great friends and they had a common goal. They had something you can’t really duplicate.”
The reality is you could rarely bring up Anna’s name this fall without also mentioning Rundle and vice versa. They went 36-3 as a doubles team, winning a Big 12 Conference and sectional championship.
Even more impressive is how well they simultaneously played in singles action. Anna compiled a record of 20-1 at No. 1 singles, and Rundle was 19-2 in the No. 2 position. They could have easily competed as singles players in the postseason — they both made the state tournament in 2023 — but they decided before the season even started that they’d have a better chance at making a state run as partners.
“Since the summer, we were on a mission,” Anna said. “We both decided mentally before the season started that, ‘This is what we’re going to do. We know what we can do.’ I love playing singles, but doubles is a whole different game. It’s easier to relax and have fun playing with Reese.”
The key to their success stems from the relationship they built during the last two years. They’ve always been friends, but their on-court chemistry took time to build. Kathy said they weren’t ready to take on the postseason as a doubles team last year, and after looking back, they agreed.
“Our first year as a doubles team, we bonded fine, but there was no chemistry in our play,” Rundle said. “We were both singles players before that, so having to work together on what we’re good at was very hard to perfect. This year, something clicked, and it was like everything was perfect every match. The extra year we had was definitely useful and needed.”
On top of that, before discovering they could thrive playing as a unit, they simply didn’t know who was going to take charge.
“Last year was kind of strange because we had both previously played with former seniors, and we weren’t in the leading role. It was more looking at each other like ‘Now what?'” Anna said. “After we got over the nerves and overthinking, we were confident and trusted each other.”
Needless to say, it worked. Their third-place state finish marked the third year in a row the Vikings, more specifically Anna, have made school history at state. Anna teamed up with 2022 News-Gazette Player of the Year Lexi Ellis to place fifth in doubles her freshman year, the highest Danville state placement at the time. Last season, Anna won Player of the Year after coming away with a top-eight singles finish, another best Danville placement. And of course, Anna and Rundle one-upped the doubles result from two years ago.
While Anna has made a habit of making history, this was Rundle’s first time, and the realization hit her as soon as it happened.
“Literally right after the last point, after the ball bounced, it hit me,” Rundle said. “I was just overwhelmed with emotions, like, ‘That was my last match.’ All that hard work made it a bundle of joy. It was all worth it, and it was so much fun. It definitely hit me right then. It still makes me emotional and sad now, but I’m still happy because we ended on a good note.”
Anna and Rundle’s accomplishments are the product of all the successes of Danville players before them. It’s turning into a long line, too. Rachel Lewis was the first Viking to win Player of the Year back in 2013. She laid the foundation so Lauren Ellis could win it in 2018, and Lexi Ellis did it four years later while leading the team to a third-place state finish.
A Viking — at least one Viking — has now won the award three years in a row after Anna and Rundle took it to another level. They’re molding the current underclassmen to take over and keep that tradition going.
“Anna and Reese were fortunate to play on a really, really strong team that finished third at state, and they were both young at the time. They watched that and then paved the way for the next one,” Kathy said. “Reese is leaving, and Anna still has another year, but we have several freshmen coming in. I don’t know what level they’re going to be at, but it’s neat to watch people pass it down, and Danville tennis has been able to do that. Anna and Reese have set the bar really high, and you hope it can continue.”
