Great Bend Post Sports
Eight schools were in action for Saturday's Great Bend Girls' Tennis Invitational at the Shannon Schartz Courts in Veterans Memorial Park. Garden City scored 61 points for the win, followed by Sterling with 58 points, and Great Bend with 49 points for third. Hoisington placed fifth with 31 points, and Ellinwood scored 10 points for eighth.
Sam Mayers and Taylor Lashley finished second at No. 1 doubles for Great Bend. The girls opened with an 8-2 win over Dodge City, but faltered in an 8-4 loss to Ellinwood's team of Grace Sturtz and Mahra Johnston that finished seventh in the bracket. The Panthers rebounded to beat Sterling 8-7 (7-1) to win their pool. Mayers and Lashley dropped an 8-3 set to Garden City in the championship match.
Kaylin Wahlmeier finished strong at No. 1 singles for third place for the Lady Panthers. She opened with a 8-7 (8-4) loss to Dodge City, then defeated Ellinwood's Gracyn Dombroski 8-1. Wahlmeier went the distance against the eventual champion from Sterling 8-7 (7-1) to finish second in the pool. Wahlmeier defeated Garden City 8-6 in the third-place match.
Clarise Snapp placed third in the No. 2 singles bracket for Great Bend. She opened at 2-0 with an 8-7 (8-6) thriller against Dodge City and an 8-2 win over Ellinwood's Lydia Porter. In the third-place match, Snapp defeated Hoisington's Reese Merlau 8-5.
Hoisington's No. 2 doubles team of Lauren Higgins and Piper Jacobs led area players with a fourth-place finish. Great Bend's team of Danica Strickland and Mackenzie LaViolette went 1-2 in pool matches with an 8-5 win against Ellinwood's Vivian Klepper and Shelby Steffan. Hoisington's pair fell to Sterling 8-3 in the third-place match. Great Bend's duo defeated Liberal 8-3 in the fifth-place match.