Great Bend Post Sports
No doubt about it, Great Bend's Kaylin Wahlmeier had a tough road ahead of her at the Class 5A State Tennis Championships in Salina Friday. All players had to contend with the cold and wind, but with a win in her first match, Wahlmeier would draw the favorite for the title in round two.
Wahlmeier entered the field as the No. 17 seed, playing a competitive match but losing 6-4, 6-3 to the No. 16 seed from Aquinas. Things got no easier on the back side of the bracket with an 8-1 loss to the eventual 12th-place finisher from St. James Academy.
The Class 5A bracket had undefeated state champions. Bishop Carroll's Brynn Steven had at a 6-0 set in each of her four state matches to finish her season at 29-0. Andover's Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker were almost as impressive but needed three sets to get by teammates Emma Jittawait and Elizabeth Gaddis in the semifinals. With those teams in the mix, Andover scored 49 points to cruise to the team championship. Salina Central and Bishop Carroll each scored 23 points for second and third, respectively.
Class 3-2-1A
The Ellsworth girls just missed team hardware by two points at the Class 3-2-1A State Tennis Championships in Topeka. Wichita Collegiate scored 50 points for the win, followed by Marysville with 28 points, and Conway Springs with 25 points. Ellsworth finished with 23 points in fourth.
As regional runners-up, Reygan Coonrod and Inarie Rippert had a bye in round one. They easily defeated Marysville's No. 14 seed 6-2, 6-1, then advanced to the state semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 win against the No. 6 seed from Osborne. The girls took down No. 2 seeded Hesston in an epic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 8-6 battle to reach the championship match. There they were defeated by Collegiate's No. 1 team 6-0, 6-4. Collegiate had at least one 6-0 set in each win of the tournament.
Elene Jundt and Hanna Vague won their first match against Osborne 6-2, 6-4, only to be rewarded with a 6-0, 6-0 match against the eventual champions from Collegiate. The girls won their next two matches on the backside before falling 8-6 to the eventual sixth-place finishers from Phillipsburg. The Bearcats downed Smoky Valley 8-0 in the 11th-place match.
The 3-2-1A singles bracket included several area players. Larned's Abigail Holt entered as a regional champion and drew the No. 7 seed. She was upset by Sterling's Chelsie Brown 7-6, 6-0 in round two. Brown lost her next match 6-4, 6-1 to the eventual runner-up from Colby. Brown finished seventh with an 8-3 win against Cimarron.
Holt won two matches on the back side before falling to Cimarron's eighth-place finisher 8-2. Holt defeated Phillipsburg 8-4 and Ellsworth's Karli Haase 8-5 to secure ninth place. Haase, playing as the No. 16 seed, opened with a 6-0, 6-4 win against Colby before falling 6-0, 6-0 to the eventual state champion from Collegiate. Lady Bearcat junior Felis De La Cruz lost her first two matches.
Central Plains' junior duo of Grace Lamatsch and Ryann Metro came up a win shy of a medal. The girls went three sets in both of their first two matches, including a loss to the eventual fifth-place finishers from Osborne. The girls picked up a win before bowing out with an 8-2 loss to the ninth-place finishers from Marysville. Senior Lauren Oeser finished 0-2 in the singles bracket.