Lady Trojan tennis team is seventh at Hesston
The experimenting continues for Lady Trojan tennis coach Lynn Wiebe on finding out where Hillsboro's strength is going to come from on the court.
So far, nobody has emerged as the top choice in singles' play and there's been a new combination in doubles in all the meets this season.
The Trojans got a tough challenge Saturday at Hesston, competing at the Hesston Invitational against some of the state's tougher 3-2-1A teams, where they finished seventh.
Wichita Independent ran away with the title, edging the hosting Lady Swathers, 50-36, while Hillsboro managed 14 points.
"I was more pleased at Hesston with our overall play," Wiebe said. "As a team, we seem to be taking it one step at a time.
"Although we're not as strong as last year, we have some good hitters, we just need to find out how to step it up and win."
With Amanda Faber, last week's competitor in No. 1 singles, playing doubles — her most successful spot — Lauren Just got her chance to face some of the state's premier players.
Just fell in her first set against Claflin's Sarah Hickel, 8-1, and in the second against Independent's Caroline Lincoln, 8-0, in pool play.
"Although the scores were pretty one-sided, Lauren worked hard," said Wiebe. "She hit well with her opponents."
Maria Loewen also struggled in second-singles, stumbling against Claflin's Courtney Liebl, and Independent's Holly Jabara, by respective 8-2 and 8-4 scores.
The Trojans most success came from the No. 1 doubles team of Faber and Greta Wiebe.
The duo upended Claflin in the first match, 8-3, but dropped a hard-fought 8-6 set against the Lady Panthers' 2006 state runner-up team and eventual division winner.
Greta and Faber bounced back from the loss to beat Andover 8-3 in their final game of pool play en route to beating Sacred Heart for third-place overall by the same margin.
"Doubles has been Amanda's strength for the past three years and you could tell she was back in her comfort zone," Lynn Wiebe said. "She played relaxed, comfortable, and executed points very nicely.
"Greta stepped up to the challenge, she played very consistently and worked well alongside Amanda. I was very pleased with their play."
The Trojan varsity team will be in action again Tuesday against the hosting Wichita Collegiate Lady Spartans with game time scheduled for 3 p.m.
