ESSTON — The Bearcat varsity

Hgirls’ tennis competed at the Hesston Varsity Invitational Sept. 19. Each match was an 8-game set and was played with short-deuce scoring.

No. 1 singles player, freshman Karli Haase, won her first match against Hutch Trinity’s Ava Madden 8-2. She then advanced to play Molly Martin from Hesston, winning that match 8-7. In the final round, Haase fought against Haylee Osner of Conway Springs, but fell short, finishing in second place.

Haase said she contributes a large part of her success to her team and coaches.

“With our team, we also have many girls who love the sport, and we push each other each and every practice,” Haase said. “Coach (Eric) Anderson and Coach ( Jason) Maisog help us become the best version of ourselves, both on and off the tennis court.”

Combined, the junior varsity and varsity teams have competed in 12 meets and brought home first place medals for each one.

The No. 1 doubles team of freshman Reygan Coonrod and sophomore Inarie Rippert began the meet against Hutch Trinity, triumphing against them 8-0. They moved on to the next round against Circle and narrowly lost 8-7, bumping them into the fight for third against Conway Springs, where they won 8-6.

“Our meet in Hesston was definitely a highlight,” Coonrod said. “We had competitive teams there, and to be able to say we came out of that meet with first place as a team is great. Our team really fought and played well in every match. It was a team effort and it felt good to win that meet.”

Coonrod recognized the season’s success, but stayed humble about the season ahead.

“Our team right now is 12-0, which is really special, but we also realize that our season isn’t over and we have to work as hard as we did our first practice as we do the rest of the season into regionals,” she said. “We always have something to improve on and we all put in the time and effort to make our team the best it can be.”

No. 2 singles player sophomore Felis De La Cruz started off her meet with a big win against Hesston’s Alaina Logan going 8-1. She moved on to play Ali Potts of Conway Springs and won again 8-2. De La Cruz then faced off against Hesston’s Aubrey Koehn, but lost 8-1, earning her second place.

The No. 2 doubles team was junior Elena Jundt and freshman Hannah Vague, who faced off against Valley Center and won 8-1. They continued on to their next match against Hesston, narrowly winning 8-7, and moved on to the final match. The doubles team took home a gold medal against Conway Springs in a competitive win 8-7.

Seniors Emma Salyers and Rebekah Vague also played No. 2 doubles in the meet. They fought hard but lost to Smoky Valley 8-5. The team then advanced to play Hesston, winning 8-4.

Sept. 28 the varsity girls host an invitational at home.