Hillsboro High School girls’ tennis player Allison Weber placed second in regional tennis Friday and Saturday in Hillsboro. Her performance at regionals earns her a berth at the state tennis tournament Friday and Saturday in Hutchinson, as well as a first-round bye. The top six finishers in regionals advance to state.
Weber entered regionals with a 17-6 record and was seeded second, behind only Dani Schwarz of Marysville. Weber defeated Brittanie Eskut of Lyons, 6-0 and 6-0, McKenzie Thrasher of Sterling, 6-0 and 6-2, and Jen Stallbaumer of Sabetha, 6-4 and 6-3.
Coach Bob Woelk said her victory over Stallbaumer in the semifinals was her best match of the season. Weber played well overall and was aggressive, Woelk said.
Her matchup in the finals with Schwarz was a mirror image of styles, Woelk said. There were many back-and-forth rallies, with at least one point going for 27 shots. The match lasted about two hours, and Schwarz won, 6-1 and 6-1.
The rest of the team pulled really difficult draws. Erin Winter drew Schwarz as her first-round opponent and lost, 6-0 and 6-0. In doubles, Claire Heyen and Bailey Kaufman also faced the No. 1 seed in the first round; they lost to Marysville, 6-1 and 6-1. Allison Gray and Peyton Loewen were competitive in their first set against Sabetha but lost, 7-5 and 6-1.
Class 3-2-1A State Tennis will be Friday and Saturday at the Hutchinson Community Tennis Complex.
At Abilene
The team played Oct. 2 at Abilene. Weber placed second in No. 1 singles by defeating Sophia Pitney of Abilene, 6-1, Shelby Mathis of Chapman, 6-3, and Kale Erickson of Clay Center, 6-0. She lost to Rachel Herzog of Ellsworth in the finals, 6-3.
Winter placed third in No. 2 singles. She defeated Susie Geiger of Abilene, 7-5, lot to Rachel Sutter of Chapman, 7-5, then defeated Hannah Callan of Clay Center, 6-2, and Cheyenne Carlson of Alma-Wabaunsee, 6-2.
In No. 1 doubles, Loewen and Gray lost to Abilene, 6-2, and Chapman, 6-0, then defeated Clay Center, 6-2, and lost to Ellsworth, 6-0. They finished in sixth place.
In No. 2 doubles, Kaufman and Heyen lost to Abilene, 6-3, Chapman, 6-1, and Clay Center, 6-0. They defeated Alma-Wabaunsee, 6-4, to place seventh.