Star-Journbal Editor
The Hillsboro doubles team of Lora Andrews and Amanda Faber fought back from an emotional first-day loss to place fifth Saturday at the Class 3-2-1A Girls' State Tennis Championships at the Hillsboro Sports Complex.
In first-round play Friday, Andrews-Faber overcame a case of home court jitters, defeating a duo from Ellinwood 6-2, 6-0.
Everything looked good for the Trojans, who had earned a No. 1 seed by winning regionals the week before. It was the second year in a row they had won the regional. The girls had advanced at last year's State Championships to the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion and finishing fourth.
After their first round win on Friday, Andrews-Faber met their match against Harrington-Lange from Conway Springs.
The Conway Springs team defeated Hillsboro 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
"Conway Springs played a great match, getting to the net and closing out points well," said Hillsboro coach Lynn Wiebe.
After losing the first set 7-5, Andrews-Faber came back to win the second set 3-6.
"Laura and Amanda struggled to make shots that they had been making all season long," Wiebe said. "It was just one of those days."
After losing to the upstart team, Andrews-Faber faced the crushing disappointment of not being able to play for the state championship before a home crowd.
Andrews-Faber were disappointed, but they had no time to mope. Almost immediately, the team was back on the court for another match against Wichita Collegiate.
After falling behind 3-7 in a 9-game pro set, the Trojans rallied. Finding their "A" game, they won the next six games in a row to win 9-7.
Andrews-Faber brought new determination, a brighter outlook and a new goal to Saturday's competition. They knew they could finish fifth by winning two matches. Showing why they amassed a season record of 25-6, they had little trouble defeating teams from Claflin (9-2) and Hoisington (9-3).
Coach Wiebe, who described Andrews and Faber as tremendous competitors, said they had earned the respect of players and coaches statewide over the past two seasons.
"They were a great team and have shared many successes together," Wiebe said. "And fifth place in the state is still pretty good!"
