HILLSBORO: Trojans take fifth at tennis meet
Hillsboro finished in the middle of the pack last Thursday during its annual Trojan Tennis Invitational. Teams from Chapman, Circle, Conway Springs, Hutch Trinity, Nickerson, and Smoky Valley came to the event.
Hillsboro placed fifth overall, gaining 30 total points. They were most successful in No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.
Conway Springs claimed first place with 61 total points. Hutch Trinity came in second, and Smoky Valley claimed third.
Brandon Ratzlaff represented the Trojans in the No. 1 singles bracket. He started the afternoon by defeating Chapman's Michael Albrecht 8-5, then lost in the next round to Conway Springs' Brandon Ewertz 8-5. In the third-place bracket, Ratzlaff fell to Conway Springs' Eric Rasmussen 8-1. Hutch Trinity's Kevin Arnhold won the bracket.
In the No. 1 doubles bracket, the Hillsboro duo of Caleb Dirks and Florin Nae began the afternoon by crushing Nickerson 8-0. Dirks and Nae then lost to Smoky Valley 8-7 in the second round and Conway Springs 8-3 in the consolation bracket. The Smoky Valley team went on to win the bracket.
Also in No. 1 doubles was the secondary Hillsboro team of Tyler Weinbrenner and Thomas VanWart. They lost to Conway Springs in the opening round, Circle in the second round, and Nickerson in the final round.
Smoky Valley
Tuesday, April 8, found the Trojans at the Smoky Valley Tennis Day Invitational in Lindsborg. Hillsboro placed fifth while competing against Wichita Collegiate, Pratt, Nickerson, Concordia, Abilene, Smoky Valley, and Hesston.
In the singles bracket, Hillsboro's Nae started the day by losing to Ryan Regnier of Concordia. He then fell to Pratt's Dustin Sandborn, but defeated Hesston's Nathan Eigsti and Abilene's Kyle Harris in the loser's bracket.
Also in singles, Hillsboro's Ratzlaff defeated Nickerson's Shawn Sullivan, then fell to Collegiate's Austin Moore. He next defeated Collegiate's Kevin Dishman and Concordia's Steinert to take fifth place.
In doubles, the duo of Wade Kimbrel and Kyle Kroeker fell to Smoky Valley, then defeated Nickerson. The other Hillsboro team of Dirks and Fadenrecht started the day by defeating Pratt, then falling to Hesston and Collegiate before defeating Pratt to take seventh.
Conway Springs
The tennis team started their season April 3 at the Conway Springs quad. Teams from Circle and South Barber joined Hillsboro and CS at the event.
The Trojans placed second, with No. 1 singles player Ratzlaff gaining the most points with six.
