ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ERIC CLARK
The Hillsboro High School boys’ tennis team took home a first-place finish at Monday’s regional tournament in rather unique fashion.
Trojans Brandon Ratzlaff and Tyler Weinbrenner made it past their respective opponents in the semi-final rounds and showed why they were the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament.
They battled each other in the championship match, with Ratzlaff coming out with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Weinbrenner.
The two Trojan netters wrapped up a state berth with their appearances in the semi-final round.
Doubles combo, Adam Driggers and Jesse Janzen also advanced to the state meet after making it to the semi’s. The duo was defeated 6-0, 6-2 by Neodasha’s Johnson and McKeller.
No. 2 doubles partners Jordan Woelk and Caleb Dirks almost advanced to the state tournament, but fell to Stuart and Gordon of Shawnee Marantha 6-1, 6-4.
After the meet, head coach Kory Unruh talked about his team’s success.
“Any coach is excited when you have three out of four entries in the Regional going to state,” Unruh said. “We played well as a team and I couldn’t be happier about the results.”
The remaining Trojans will travel to Wichita Collegiate to do battle with the state’s best on Friday.
