The Hillsboro doubles team of Courtney Weber and Allison Weber earned a berth in the Class 3-2-1A state tennis tournament later this week with a third-place finish at the regional tournament Friday in Wichita.
The sister duo breezed through the first two rounds, defeating both Raelynn Niblack and Ashley Farmer of Douglass and Kristina Enslinger and Bailee Reade of Hutch Trinity by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores.
In the semifinals, the Webers dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision to Jillian Poynter and Cara Ander?son of Independent, but bounced back in the third-place match with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 win over Rachel Mercer and Stacy Sones of Conway Springs.
?They played two essentially flawless matches to start the day, going 24-0 in games in those two matches,? coach Bob Woelk said.
?They were hitting spots on the court and really playing well together.
?Then, when they went up against the Independent duo, they kind of struggled with their confidence, but I was pleased with our play overall.
?We went up 6-0 in the first set of the (third-place) match, then struggled in the second set,? Woelk said.
?The third set became a real battle, but we fought through fatigue and came out winners. Finishing third puts us in a better position for seeding at the state meet.?
Hillsboro?s second doubles team, Erin Winter and Peyton Loewen, ended their season with a 6-0, 6-0 first-round loss to the eventual regional champions from Conway Springs, Abby Koester and Chelsea Eberkamp.
In singles, Katie Claassen ended her season with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Heather Crane of Lyons, and Claire Heyen did the same with a 6-0, 6-0 loss to the eventual champion, Colleen Zirkle from Independent.
Coming?Courtney Weber and Allison Weber will begin doubles play Friday at the Class 3-2-1A state tournament in Dodge City.
?If our regional winners from Conway Springs get seeded No. 1, that would mean the Webers would become the No. 3 seed overall in the tournament,? coach Bob Woelk said.
?That would set us up for a potentially strong run.?
