The Hillsboro High School girls tennis team won first place overall Thursday at a four-team invitational at Sterling.
In the No. 1 singles bracket, senior Courtney Weber won all three of her matches to win first place. She defeated Brishna Flores of Trinity Catholic of Hutchinson, 8-2, Ashley Smith of St. John, 8-0, and Emily Hanes of Sterling, 8-3.
Not to be outdone, freshman Allison Weber won the No. 2 singles bracket. She defeated Megan Coon of Trinity, 8-2, Martesia Tyus of St. John, 8-0, and Ryce Stuckey of Sterling, 8-4.
The No. 1 doubles team of juniors Peyton Loewen and Erin Winter finished in a three-way tie for second place. They defeated Kristina Enslinger and Baylee Reade of Trinity, 8-7 in a 7-5 tiebreaker. They lost to Racheal Davis and Sara Steinman of St. John, 8-2, and Vanessa Agbo and Sarah Wheeler of Sterling, 8-4.
The No. 2 doubles team of junior Bailey Kaufman and freshman Claire Heyen placed third. They defeated Megan Schroeder and Kendrah Payne of Sterling, 6-4. They lost to Amanda Walls and Joy Fresen of Trinity, 6-0, and Sierra Reed and Kendra Spangenberg of St. John, 6-3.
The 20 points HHS earned was enough to place first overall. Trinity placed second with 14 points, and Sterling and St. John tied with 13 points.
Hillsboro Invitational
The Trojans placed fourth in their season-opening Hillsboro Invitational on Aug. 30 against some serious competition.
In the No. 1 singles bracket, Winter won against Halstead, 8-3, but lost against Wichita Collegiate, 8-0. In the third-place match, she lost to Hesston, 8-0, to finish in fourth place.
Loewen lost to Wichita Collegiate, 8-0, and Halstead, 8-4, in pool play of the No. 2 singles bracket. She defeated Nickerson in the fifth-place match, 8-6.
In the No. 1 doubles bracket, the Webers defeated Halstead in pool play, 8-2, but lost to Wichita Collegiate, 8-7 in a 7-1 tiebreaker. In the third-place match, they lost to Pratt, 8-5, finishing in fourth place.
In the No. 2 doubles bracket, Heyen and junior Katie Claassen lost to Wichita Collegiate, 8-0, and Halstead, 8-1, in pool play. They finished in sixth place after losing the fifth-place match, 8-3.
The 14 points the Trojans earned were enough to finish fourth out of six teams, behind Wichita Collegiate, Hesston, and Pratt.
“Courtney and Allison Weber have shown they can play well at both doubles and singles,” coach Bob Woelk said after the Sterling meet. “They faced some tough competition at home, taking a good Collegiate team to a tiebreaker and then losing to a good Pratt pair. They both played well at Sterling, going undefeated. Allison breezed through her matches.
“Erin Winter and Peyton Loewen showed some real promise at No. 1 doubles at Sterling,” Woelk said. “They fought hard, winning a tiebreaker over Trinity Catholic in the first round. Erin had some strong service points. Peyton showed great foot speed at times.
“I was happy for Claire Heyen and Bailey Kaufman at No. 2 doubles, winning their first varsity match,” he said.
In the coming week, the Trojans will play Thursday at Smoky Valley and Saturday at Hesston.