HHS girls' tennis team hosts invitational Tuesday
Staff writer
Hillsboro High School girls' tennis team opened the season Tuesday with the Hillsboro Tennis Invitational held at the sports complex.
The format used for the tournament was pool play. There were six teams competing in pools A and B. Hillsboro had two teams, Hillsboro Gold and Hillsboro Red. Other teams participating were Hesston, Clay Center, Maranatha, and Wichita Collegiate.
Hillsboro Gold placed second as a team with a total of 24 points following behind first place Hesston with 32 points. Clay Center finished third with 20 points, Wichita Collegiate fourth with 18, Maranatha fifth with 14, and Hillsboro Red sixth with 12.
In No. 1 singles play, senior Kelsey Kaufman ended in a three-way tie for first place at the end of pool play.
"It was only a difference of one game that determined what place she would play for because of the tiebreak system," head coach Lynn Wiebe said.
In her first match, Kaufman lost to Kamienski of Maranatha, 8-6, then came back to defeat Kraft of Wichita Collegiate, 8-7 (7-5). In her final round, she defeated teammate Heather Stepanek, 8-2, for fifth place.
"I was pleased with Kelsey's play at No. 1 singles," Coach Wiebe said.
"She moved the ball well
In the No. 2 singles spot, sophomore Lora Andrews finished third.
Andrews lost her first round in a tiebreaker against Tearney of Maranatha, 8-7 (7-3). She came back to defeat Elkouri of Wichita Collegiate, 8-1, and won her final match against Pearson of Clay Center, 8-5.
"Lora hit the ball with a lot of pace and served well," Coach Wiebe said.
Hillsboro Gold with seniors Erin Wiebe and Emily Railsback finished second in the No. 1 doubles competition.
According to Coach Wiebe this is the first time the two have played doubles together since freshman year.
In the first round, Wiebe and Railsback defeated Maranatha, 8-0.
"I was pleased even though Maranatha was a much weaker team, Erin and Emily did not allow them to win any games," Coach Wiebe said. "They stepped it up whenever necessary."
In the second round, Wiebe and Railsback came from behind to defeat Wichita Collegiate in a tie breaker, 8-7, (7-1).
In the finals for first place, Wiebe and Railsback lost in the match against Hesston, 8-5.
"I was pleased these two made it to the finals," Coach Wiebe said. "They had moments of working well together."
Wiebe said she saw room for improvement for the No. 1 doubles team.
"They need to work on getting to the net quicker and closing off the net to finish the point," she said. "They each have a lot of potential as doubles players."
Hillsboro's Gold No. 2 doubles team of senior Whitney Washmon and junior Danielle Hagen competed in the finals after easily winning their first two rounds. Washmon and Hagen defeated Maranatha 8-2, and Wichita Collegiate 8-3.
Hillsboro's Red No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Amanda Bartel and freshman Amanda Faber, in pool B defeated Hesston 8-3, and Clay Center 8-5, making it to the finals against teammates Washmon and Hagen.
In the final round, Bartel and Faber came out on top by a narrow margin, defeating Washmon and Hagen, 8-7 (7-1) winning the tiebreaker to take first.
"I was very pleased and excited that both teams made it to the finals of the No. 2 doubles," Coach Wiebe said.
Reviewing the play of her team for the tournament, Coach Wiebe said, "Everyone did some things well.
"We also learned where we need to focus in the next few weeks to become stronger as a team," she added.
The varsity will play at 3 p.m. today in Sterling and the JV will play at 3 p.m. today at Hesston.
After Labor Day, the varsity will be in action against Smoky Valley at 3 p.m. Thursday in Lindsborg. The JV will play at home at 3 p.m. Thursday at the sports complex.
