The girls tennis team travelled to Topeka on Friday to compete in the state tournament. Both doubles teams, senior Lauren Robben and junior Olivia Belin, and junior Neely Joyce and freshman Joanna Park, went 0-2 for the day. In addition, freshman Kira Schartz also went 0-2.

Although this result was not the way the team wanted to end the season, they were all honored and excited that they were given the opportunity to go at all. It was the first state appearance for all of the team members, and Robben’s last. As a senior, she took this opportunity as a great farewell to her team and the tennis program at Manhattan High.

“I want to leave my legacy as a tennis player behind and be an example for the future tennis players,” Robben said. “It was a real honor [to make it to state.]”

Working together, the team was able to land a spot in the state tournament. Throughout the season the girls worked together to progress their skill level and competitiveness with other teams in order to present the chance of going to state. The overall feeling of the season, regardless of the state final rank, was positive.

“I felt really good about our season because last year we really didn’t do that well,” Robben said. “This year we took a big step forward, especially considering how young our team was.”