Girls varsity tennis plays unusual back to back games

Hannah Heger, Features Editor

Girls Varsity tennis plays multiple games in a season, not usually back to back but this week changed.

The team played first at Emporia, placing third overall with a third place win from sophomore Kayla Lei in 1-singles, a fourth place win from juniors Kira Schartz and Joanna Park in 1-doubles and an 11th-place win from freshman Jecca Park and junior Kate McGee in 2-doubles.

Head coach Tony Ingram was available for written comment.

We had some really close matches at all levels that gave the girls some really good experience on the court and helped us realize there is always room for improvement and better consistency,” Ingram said via email. “I was very pleased with the competitiveness of our team. As you can see we were not far, point wise, from being at the top.”

After arriving home from the Emporia meet, the team got ready for the Topeka West Invitational the next day. The team placed second overall at the Topeka West Invitational with a second place win from freshman Hannah Loub in 2-singles, a third place win from Lei in 1-singles and a second place win in 1-doubles from Schartz and Park.

Playing multiple games in a row can be stressful but the team played their best even with the extra stress school added onto the match.

“We don’t really focus on the outside world,” McGee said. “It’s kind of seeing the positive alive on the court and not really focus on anything else.”

But all these games just prepare the girls for the upcoming Centennial League and hopefully reach Regional Tournament and then State Tournament.

“We got some young girls like Kayla who finished 10th last year at state at 1-singles so she has the experience of being there,” Ingram said. “I feel like we should be in the top three of the top teams if we play well.”