Weber earns 4th state tennis berth

Senior Allison Weber will complete her high school tennis career with a fourth consecutive state tournament appearance by placing sixth this weekend in a super-tough Class 3-2-1A regional hosted by Wichita Collegiate.

?Allison wil have a chance to return to where it all started, Dodge City,? said coach Bob Woelk.

As a freshman, Weber qualified in doubles with her sister, Courtney, placing sixth. She qualified in singles the next two years, placing fifth as a sophomore and sixth as a junior.

Playing this weekend in a tournament that had to adjust its schedule because of weather, Weber opened with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kris?tina Enslinger of Hutchin?son Trinity, then dropped a 6-4, 6-5 decision to Jaya Montovani of Collegi?ate.

In the backside bracket, Weber defeated Olivia Bru?bacher of Hesston, 6-2, 6-0, then lost 6-4, 6-1 in the fifth-place match against Emily Ramsey of Collegiate.

?I would say she ran out of gas a bit in the final match of the tournament against a good player,? Woelk said. ?She played both Collegiate entries during the course of the tournament.

?We knew it would be tough to make it out of this regional,? he added. ?It was absolutely loaded with singles talent. Allison was the No. 6 seed, so she finished where predicted.?

Meanwhile, senior Claire Heyen defeated Brianna Fenno of Douglass, 9-1, in the play-in round, then lost to Montovani, 6-1, 6-0.

?She finished the year at 14-15, and quite honestly, would have had a better than fair chance to advance out of any other regional in the state,? Woelk said.

?It just once again points out the inequity of the regional system in Kansas that so many powerful teams are bunched together at one location. Many good players, including Hesston?s Bru?bacher, were deserving of better.?

Hillsboro?s two doubles made relatively quick exits from the tournament.

Allison Gray and Hannah Funk lost to Wichita Independent?s second doubles team, while Madison Klein and Anna Glanzer lost to a solid team from Haven.

?It was a struggle all year to put together the right combination of players for doubles,? Woelk said. ?The only way to differentiate among the players is through challenge matches as singles players. That doesn?t always indicate which two girls will play well together.

?We did a lot of experimenting this year, so we never really settled on the two best doubles pairings.?

The Class 3-2-1A tournament will begin Friday, hosted by Dodge City High School.

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