Andover headlines the Wichita area state qualifiers for Kansas high school girls tennis

The Andover girls tennis team will be the heavy favorite to repeat as state champions for a third straight season when the Class 5A state tournament kicks off Friday at Salina Tennis Center.

The Trojans nearly posted a perfect team score this past weekend at a Class 5A regional hosted in Arkansas City, as their doubles teams both met in the finals and their singles players finished second and third.

The senior combination of Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker had no issues improving to 26-0 this season by sweeping their way through the doubles field, including a 6-3, 6-1 win in the finals over teammates Emma Jittawait, a sophomore, and Elizabeth Gaddis, a junior.

Meanwhile, sophomore Mia Jaramillo (second) will take a 25-5 record to state and junior Molly Gaddis (third) will take a 25-4 record to state with both being contenders for high medals.

But no one this season has been able to touch Bishop Carroll senior Brynn Steven, who is a perfect 25-0 and has yet to give up more than five games in a match this season. In a highly-anticipated final against Jaramillo, Steven led 5-2 in the first set when her opponent retired.

Other state-qualifying singles included Maize South junior Maggie Harrison (fourth), Maize junior Rylee Frye (fifth) and Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman Julia Judkins (sixth). In the doubles field, local state-qualifying teams featured Maize South senior Madelyn Fellows and sophomore Sydney Schumaker (third), Carroll freshman Brooke Steven and sophomore Liza Dugan (fourth), Andover Central junior Ellen Schaefer and freshman Reese Wilborn (fifth) and Eisenhower seniors Leah Wilkinson and Leila Kral (sixth).

At the 5A regional hosted by Salina Central, Newton came away with three state entries after qualifying both of its doubles teams in juniors Carlie Franz and Natalie Hershberger (third) and senior Lucy Buller and junior Margaret Oswald (fifth), plus senior Haley Ruth (fifth) in singles.

Valley Center sophomore Allison Munhall (third) also punched her ticket to state in singles, while teammates Leah Hamm, a freshman, and Taylee Tacner, a senior, qualified in doubles with a sixth-place finish. The other local qualifier in doubles was the Hutchinson junior pairing of Ellie Foos and Ayla Booe, which took fourth.

Wichita Collegiate rolls to another 3-1A regional title

The 14-time defending state champions appear poised to add another title to their collection, this time under a new head coach.

Collegiate has transitioned from legendary head coach Dave Hawley to Simon Norman seamlessly, as the Spartans produced a near-perfect score at the 3-1A regional in Conway Springs.

Sophomore Lara de Carvalho didn’t drop a single game in the regional final and figures to be a strong contender for the 3-1A singles title at Topeka’s Kossover Tennis Center when the state tournament begins on Friday. Her teammate, sophomore Amelia Blackman, took third in the regional tournament.

Meanwhile, both of Collegiate’s doubles team met in the regional final with juniors Laney Conrad and Julia Herman improving to 26-3 with a straight-set victory over teammates Tatum Downing and Langley Overman, another pair of juniors.

Conway Springs qualified three of its four entries to the state tournament: Senior Haylee Osner (20-5) advanced to the singles final, and the doubles pairings of Morgan Koester and Sadie Koester (third), as well as seniors Grace Bender and Janel Meyer, also punched their ticket to state.

In the singles field, Classical junior Greer Kice, Kingman junior Ryan Schreiner and Chaparral senior Innslee Albright all qualified for state. In doubles, Classical sophomore Leonora Neumann and junior Adah Branam, as well as Chaparral senior Kabrie Chance and junior Katelyn Reames, also qualified.

At the Hesston regional, the host school qualified three entrants to the state tournament with the doubles team of sophomore Elyse Griffin and senior Kori Kramer improving to 23-4 this season by winning the regional championship. The Swathers also qualified junior Molly Martin (fifth) in singles, as well as their No. 2 doubles team of senior Jaiden Callahan and sophomore Caroline Yoder (sixth).

Sterling also saw two of its entrants reach the state tournament with sophomore Chelsie Brown (third) in the singles field and the doubles team of seniors Cylie LaTourell and Emily McGaughey (third).

Trinity’s Sophia Majors poised for singles run at 4A state

After playing a challenging schedule in the regular season, Trinity Academy senior Sophia Majors played some of her top tennis at the 4A regional meet in Scott City to claim the singles championship.

Majors improved to 23-9 this season, avenging one of her previous losses in the semifinals with a straight-set win over Winfield’s Sophia Heger, then claiming another straight-set win over Pratt’s Bailey Jackson in the finals.

Meanwhile, Wellington swept the doubles field in the same regional with the Crusaders meeting in the finals. It was the duo of sophomore Cruz Cornejo and senior Lyric Cornejo, which improved to 19-5, that topped teammates Kadynce Aufdengarten, a junior, and Logan Robinson, a sophomore, in the finals.

Other doubles teams that qualified for state included Trinity sophomore Joley Henderson and junior Madeline Davis (fifth) and the Winfield duo of junior Alessandra Le and freshman Zlata Mitina (sixth).

At the Buhler regional, McPherson qualified all four of its entrants to the state tournament to be hosted at Winfield’s T.H. Vaughan Tennis Center beginning on Friday. The sister duo of sophomore Maryn Sandbo (third) and senior Kyndall Sandbo (fourth) both qualified in singles, while the sister duo of Riggs Kuhn and Brodie Kuhn improved to 25-6 en route to the doubles title with the freshmen pair of Alexandria Rodriguez and Avery Unruh snagging the sixth qualifying spot.

Other state qualifiers in singles included Augusta junior Elise Richardson (second), Buhler junior Ashlyn Coker (fifth) and Buhler senior Kayleigh Hamby (sixth). In the doubles field, Circle junior Londyn Soto and senior MaKya Thornton finished second and Buhler senior duo Madilyn Tanksley and Faith Miller took fourth to punch their tickets to state.

Wichita Northwest sends two regional champions to 6A state

Wichita Northwest senior Alayna Alvarez rallied for a three-set victory (3-6, 6-4, 7-5) over Garden City’s Quincy Nanninga in the 6A regional final in Liberal to avenge one of her losses from earlier this season.

Alvarez once again advanced to the state tournament in singles with a 17-5 record. She will be joined by fellow City League singles players in Wichita Heights sophomore Izabella Cunningham (fourth) and Wichita West sophomore Leah Frazier (fifth).

Northwest also had the regional doubles champion in Liberal, as junior Kam Stubbs and senior Cayanna Sparks won a marathon tiebreaker in the regional final, 6-2, 7-6 (12), over Garden City’s Jocelyn Kennedy and Chloe Ptacek. The City League duo advance to state with a 19-3 record.

At the Wichita South regional, Derby’s doubles teams were the only local entrants to reach the state tournament. Derby senior duo of Kyler Demel and Emerson Godwin topped teammates Isabella Nikolova, a junior, and Ayanna Wright, a senior, in the fifth-place match.

The Class 6A state tournament will be held at Junction City’s Blue Jay Tennis Facility beginning on Friday.