The Best Women’s Athletes from Illinois: Madison Keys, Sandi Morris, Kendall Coyne Schofield & More

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Madison Keys

The Rock Island, Illinois product became a professional tennis player at the age of 14 back in 2009. 

Now 27 years of age, Keys continues to push for her first Grand Slam singles victory. She’s gotten close several times, going as far as the 2017 US Open finals, where she lost to Sloane Stephens. 

At this year’s Australian Open. Keys fell to Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals, and the latter went on to defeat Danielle Collins in the finals for her third Grand Slam title.

In singles, Keys was ranked as high as seventh in the world back in October 2016. She’ll have another opportunity to win her next Grand Slam at the upcoming French Open tournament.

Keys is listed as a +4000 longshot to win the Women’s French Open at Vegas Insider. 20-year-old Iga ?wi?tek has the best odds at +3000. Sports fans who want to become part of Illinois State’s surge in the world of online sports betting can check out some of the best promo codes. 

Keys also reached the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open and the 2018 French Open, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams in the former and to runner-up Stephens in the latter.

Sandi Morris

The 29-year-old Morris was born in the village of Downers Grove.

The legendary pole vaulter has crafted a legacy as one of the great American athletes of her era. Morris has consistently flourished on the international stage, winning gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 World Indoor Championships.

Morris also won silver at the 2016 summer Olympics and silver at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.

Kendall Coyne Schofield headlines Stars of Women’s National Ice Hockey Team from Illinois

Thanks largely to a handful of key players from the state of Illinois, the United States women’s national ice hockey team made it to the gold medal game for the fourth straight Olympic games.

But like 2010 and 2014, their gold medal dreams were dashed by the Canadians. The U.S. ended a 20-year gold medal drought by defeating Canada in a shootout at the 2018 Olympics, but this time, it was Marie-Philip Poulin’s squad celebrating championship glory.

That said, the U.S. are very well positioned to dethrone the Canadians at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships as well as the 2026 Olympic games.

The 2022 Olympic squad was led by longtime mainstays Hilary Knight, Lee Stecklein, Brianna Decker and Amanda Kessel. But the team has a bright long-term future thanks in large part to top players from the Prairie State.

Five players from the Olympic team were born in Illinois: Kendall Coyne Schofield, Savannah Harmon, Jesse Compher, Abbey Murphy and Megan Bozek.

Coyne, one of the top athletes of her generation, made history at the 2019 NHL All-Star weekend by competing in the fastest skater challenge. There, she became the first woman hockey player to compete at the NHL All-Star weekend competition.

Coyne has led the Americans to a whopping six gold medals at the Women’s World Hockey Championships, including five straight from 2013 to 2019. The Palos Heights native led the Minnesota Huskies to an Isobel Cup Championship in 2019.

Bozek, who was born in Buffalo Grove, also won gold medals with the U.S. in the 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2019 World Championships. She was also a silver medalist at the 2014 and 2022 Olympic games. In 2017, Bozek played an instrumental role in leading the Buffalo Beauts to an Isobel Cup Championship.

Murphy, who was born in Evergreen Park, also represented the U.S. at this year’s Winter Olympic games. The Minnesota Golden Gophers star earned a WCHA All-Rookie Team selection in her freshman 2020-21 campaign, having scored eight goals and 10 assists in 20 games.

Jordyn Poulter

The Naperville product was one of the nation’s top volleyball players for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign en route to stardom on the international stage.

Poulter, who plays for the Italian Futura Volley Busto Arsizio club, helped the United States to Olympic gold at the 2020 games. The 24-year-old Poulter also helped her country to gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 FIVB Nations League competition.

Photo by John Fornander on Unsplash

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