HESSTON — In yet another stellar performance in an unprecedented season, the Ellsworth varsity girls’ tennis team became the 3-2-1 A division champions at the Oct. 6-7 regional meet, taking home yet another gold medal and advancing all six players to the state meet.

The varsity squad consists of three freshmen, Karli Haase, Hannah Vague and Reygan Coonrod; two sophomores, Inarie Rippert and Felis De La Cruz; and one junior, Elena Jundt. Despite their age, the girls have had an 8-0 record, winning every meet they’ve competed at.

With the highs have come some lows. Early in the season, two players experienced medical setbacks that prevented them from competing. Senior Samantha Couch was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and junior Cadence Halfhill was in a car accident. The Bearcats have rallied around their teammates.

“Finding out about Sami and Cadence was one of the hardest things to go through,” Inarie Rippert said. “Knowing that some of our tennis family were going through struggles motivated us to win for them; to represent them in everything we did.”

Head Coach Eric Anderson was his players’ biggest supporter throughout the season.

“I have said this to many people this season, but this team, from player 1 to player 18, is more than a team — they are a family,” Anderson said. “They have stuck by Sami and Cadence through their ordeals and they have pulled together all season to support each other and do what needed to be done to be successful. Each player has stepped up at different times to help out, and it has been great to see that.

“This is the first time in my 23 years of coaching the women’s tennis team that all six girls qualified for the state tournament. As far as I know, this is the only time that this has happened for the women’s tennis program in the history of tennis at Ellsworth High School.”

To head to state, each player or team had to place in the top six at regional. Haase placed fourth with a 24-6 season record and De La Cruz placed sixth with her record of 21-9.

Rippert and Coonrod began the meet by playing against the Hillsboro Hardey and Morey doubles team. They won, continuing on to play Watkins and Haas of Larned. The team won again, cementing their spot at state. For their third match, Rippert and Coonrod played Sterling’s LaTourell and McGaughey. The team advanced on to the fight for first place after winning their match. They faced off against Kramer and Griffin. The Ellsworth team lost, but they earned second place.

Haase began the meet by facing off against Sofie Odelmark from Ellinwood. She won the match and continued on to play her own teammate, De La Cruz. Haase won again and moved on to play Abigail Holt of Larned. Haase lost, but her battle for state wasn’t over yet. She then entered the match for third place against Chelsie Brown of Sterling. Haase lost, finishing with fourth.

De La Cruz began her meet against St. John Hudson’s Jennifer Garcia. She won, advancing to play Haase. De La Cruz didn’t let her loss against Haase slow her down. She played Ava Madden and won, guaranteeing her a top six finish. De La Cruz competed for fifth but lost, placing sixth.

The doubles team of Rippert and Coonrod had a season record of 25-4 and took second place. The other doubles team of Vague and Jundt had a 17-3 season record and took fourth.

Vague and Jundt began their meet against Sturtz and Klepper of Ellinwood. Their win moved the team on to play Hemken and Hemken of Larned. They won again and advanced to play Hesston’s Kramer and Griffin. Vague and Jundt lost, moving them to the third-place match where they faced off against LaTourell and McGaughey of Sterling, losing and earning them fourth.

“It was unreal to know that all the time and hard work spent with my teammates paid off and we accomplished one of our goals,” Jundt said.

Though she and her teammates were nervous to compete, they were able to have a historymaking meet.

“We have a week to practice before state and we’re going to make the most out of every minute and continue to listen to our coaches,” Jundt said.

Throughout the season, Anderson has been grateful to coach.

“Coaching this team has been a lot of fun. The kids have great attitudes, they get along great with each other, they have a willingness to learn and work hard to be the best that they can be,” Anderson said. “It has been that attitude and perseverance that allowed them to succeed.”

Rippert said having all six girls qualify for state was “the best feeling in the world,” especially with having such a young team.

“I am so proud of this team. We had some low times, but also had our great times. We go through them together,” she said.

The team will compete at the state meet in Topeka Oct. 13-14.

“...this team, from player 1 to player 18, is more than a team — they are a family.”

Eric Anderson Head Coach