Trojan tennis team takes fifth at Smoky Valley Invitational

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CARRIE SCHROEDER & DON RATZLAFF
The Hillsboro High School varsity tennis team placed fifth at the eight-team Sterling Varsity Invitational Thursday.

Claflin won the tournament with 64 team points, followed by Conway Springs with 57, Hutch Trinity 41, St. John 33, Hillsboro 28, Greensburg 27, Sterling 26 and Kingman 5.

Hillsboro’s No. 1 doubles team of Amanda Faber and Lora Andrews placed third. They defeated Morgan Daily and Rebecca Davis of St. John (8-3), lost to Jessica Klug and Kayla Klug of Claflin (3-8), then defeated Mazur and Raya of Hutch Trinity (8-3).

“Amanda Faber and Lora Andrews played together for the first time and did very well,” coach Lynn Wiebe said.

The Claflin team that defeated them placed second at state in 2004.

“Amanda and Lora truly got a taste of what it means and feels like to play at the next level,” Wiebe said.

In No. 2 doubles, Greta Wiebe and Hannah Marsh placed fifth. They lost in the opening round to Bethany Schartz and Corinna Hickel of Claflin, then defeated ShaRae Wadel and Melanie Herd of Greensburg (8-2) and Kristin Gleason and Rachel Spare of St. John (8-1).

“Again, we had a brand new combination put together for No. 2 doubles,” Lynn Wiebe said. “In the first match it seemed they were just getting used to each other on the court. They made their share of unforced errors and weren’t putting good angles on the ball. In the next two rounds they made a 100 percent turnaround.”

In No. 1 singles, Danielle Hagen placed seventh. She lost to Kendrea Friesen of Greensburg (5-8) in the first round, then to Keri Kenning of Hutch Trinity (4-8) before defeating Shannon Rohlman of Claflin (8-5).

In No. 2 singles, Chelsey Harmon lost her opening match to Rachel Stueder of Claflin (4-8), then defeated Ashley Carlton of Sterling (8-2) before losing to Bhumieka Patel of Greensburg (2-8) in the battle for fifth place.

“In singles we struggled with intensity,” Wiebe said. “We played not to lose instead of playing to win. Both Danielle and Chelsey had some bright moments and are capable of making some great shots.

“Overall, I was a bit disappointed in our team finish,” she added. “I was hoping for a third-place finish behind Claflin and Conway Springs.

“However, I was pleased with our doubles. We will continue to experiment with our lineup in an attempt to make the strongest team possible.

“We have a bunch of sophomores who played a lot of (junior varsity) tennis last year and improved over the summer and are looking to gain some varsity experience this year. We have a lot to look forward to.”

The Trojans’ next action will be in Lindsborg on Thursday. Matches begin at 3 p.m.

Hillsboro Invitational-The Trojan varsity opened its season Aug. 30 with a fourth-place finish with its “Gold” team and sixth-place with its “Red” team in the eight-team home tournament.

Hesston won the team title.

For the Gold team, the No. 1 doubles team of Lora Andrews and Danielle Hagen placed second, the No. 2 team of Chelsey Harmon and Greta Wiebe placed fifth. In singles, Amanda Faber was second at No. 1 and Lauren Just was fifth at No. 2.

A more complete report of the tournament appears in last week’s Free Press Extra.

Junior varsity-The Trojan junior varsity team placed third among eight teams at Hesston on Thursday.

Julia Loewen and Lauren Just placed second in No. 1 doubles while Tessa Simpson and Anna Woelk placed fifth in No. 2 doubles.

Amber Loewen placed fourth in No. 1 singles and Maria Loewen finished fifth in No. 2 singles.

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