HHS doubles tennis teams place at state
Staff writer
Hillsboro High School doubles tennis team members struggled in their first rounds at state Friday and Saturday in Hesston, but still managed to come away with some state medals.
"I was very pleased with how we ended our season, " head coach Lynn Wiebe said. "Both teams improved their play even throughout the state tournament."
Hillsboro doubles teams Erin Wiebe and Lora Andrews placed seventh and Kelsey Kaufman and Amanda Faber placed ninth.
In the first round, Wiebe and Andrews were defeated by tough opponents from Ellinwood, losing 6-4, 6-2.
"Lora and Erin got off to a slow start and then struggled with their emotions and intensity throughout the match," coach Wiebe said. "They struggled to close the net and finish the point."
Coach Wiebe said the team got back on stride in their next round against Dusin and Dusin of Phillipsburg.
"They were making the big shots and winning the big points," Wiebe said. "We were able to keep our emotions in check and channel our energies in a positive direction."
The game was suspended on Friday because of rain. Teams resumed play Saturday morning.
Wiebe and Andrews were 3-0 in the match but were down 30-40 in the game. They came out Saturday morning and defeated Phillipsburg 9-4.
In their third round, they defeated Allen and Rokey of Sabetha 9-4. In their fourth round of play, they lost to Patel and Roark of Wichita Independent 9-1.
"We were in the match the whole way," Coach Wiebe said, "Although we were behind a good share of the way, we took the lead by one game at 7-6."
Independent came back to tie the game and go ahead to win the match.
The team was up against their Ellinwood opponents whom they lost to in the first round. Wiebe and Andrews defeated Ellinwood 9-3 and placed seventh.
"Even through the disappointment of losing to Independent, they stayed determined and came back to defeat Ellinwood," Coach Wiebe said.
Kaufman and Faber were able to play one match on Friday. They lost the first round to Ellinwood 6-1, 6-1.
On Saturday, the duo were matched up against Koester and Crotinger of Hoisington and won 9-6.
"They surprised me," Coach Wiebe said. "They came out and made some major improvements in their game that I had been preaching to them about the last couple of weeks."
"The closed the met and put much better angles on their volleys and used the lob very effectively," Wiebe said.
They went on to win their next round against Phillipsburg 9-3. In their final round of the day, they defeated Mattke and Deines of Wabaunsee 9-3 to take ninth place.
"Both teams should feel very good about their accomplishments at both regionals and state," Wiebe said.
"They truly stepped up to the level of competition and for the first year since I have been coaching girls' tennis, I feel that we truly improved up to the final point of the season," she said. "We didn't allow ourselves to level off at some point."
Wiebe recapped the season, saying she started the season with 24 girls and was able to add more junior varsity meets to allow more opportunities for the girls to play.
Becoming regional champs and having the first place and third place doubles team from regionals go to state was a highlight for Wiebe.
"These finishes (at state) were simply the frosting on the cake for an exciting season," she added.
