The tennis team took home two first place finishes last week. They won the Phillipsburg Quad Sept. 5 and the Smoky Valley Invitational Sept. 7.

Phillipsburg Sept. 5

To start off the week, the Bearcats traveled to Phillipsburg where they brought home the gold.

Playing No. 1 singles, sophomore Felis De La Cruz finished in second place for the day. In her first round match, she beat Alivia Solida of Phillipsburg 8-4. In round two, she beat LeAnne Beikman of Norton 8-1. De La Cruz lost her third and final round 8-4 to Annabelle Malsam of Trego.

Junior Elena Jundt placed first in No. 2 doubles, going 3-0 for the day. In her first round, Jundt competed against Hayley Dougherty of Phillipsburg, where she took the victory 8-3. In her second round match, Jundt defeated Layla Puga of Norton in 8-0. To end the day, she beat Mia Coleman of Trego 8-5.

As one of the oldest on the team, Jundt strives to lead her teammates, and she sees how the team works to improve their own skills to better their team success.

“I’m trying to lead by example, show up on time, put in the work and listen to the coaches,” Jundt said. “With the whole team being so talented, we’re constantly competing against each other, which only makes us better.”

The No. 1 doubles team of freshman Reygan Coonrod and sophomore Inarie Rippert went 2-1. Their first match against Phillipsburg was a close match until the very end. With a score of 7-7, the game went down to the winner of the next point, which ended in a victory for the Panthers, 8-7.

In their next two rounds, the doubles partners took commanding leads and dominated the court. They beat Norton 8-1 in the second round and Trego 8-1 in the third. Coonrod and Rippert finished second.

Playing No. 2 doubles, freshmen Karli Haase and Hannah Vague swept their competition. They won each of their matches versus Phillipsburg, Norton and Trego, 8-0. The team placed first in No. 2 doubles for the day.

The team’s total score at Phillipsburg was 24 points and they took the gold, beating second place Phillipsburg by 3 points.

The team is dedicated to getting better, both individually and as a team.

“All 16 of the girls on our team come to practice every day with great attitudes and a will to get better,” head coach Eric Anderson said. “They are all really competitive and push each other to get better each and every day.

When everyone on the team is always giving their best efforts and pushing their teammates to do the same, typically good things seem to happen.”

Smoky Valley Sept. 7

With a short turn-around, the Cats traveled to Smoky Valley Sept. 7.

The Cats scored 54 points, taking first overall. They beat second place Hesston by 4 points.

De La Cruz finished fourth place in No. 1 singles. In her first round, she crushed Kaitlyn Leis of Smoky Valley, winning 8-0. De La Cruz moved on to play Sara Smith of Clay Center, but lost 8-3. She lost her final match of the day to Elyssa Frieze of Chapman 8-0.

In No. 2 singles, Jundt competed in her first round against Summer Bice of Abilene, winning 8-0. She moved on to play Jill Hett of Smoky Valley, but lost 8-4. Jundt’s final match of the day ended in a victory over Aubrey Koehn of Hesston. The final score was 8-2. Jundt finished in third place.

Coonrod and Rippert finished in second place in No. 1 doubles. They started the day with a defeat over Clay Center 8-1. They moved on to play Smoky Valley, where they fought in a long game. The Bearcats came out on top, winning 8-6. The win over Smoky Valley sent the team to the championship, where they fell short, losing to Hesston 8-4.

Haase and Vague finished in first place in No. 2 doubles. They started the day playing Hillsboro. The partners made it a quick match, crushing the Trojans 8-0. They moved on to play Chapman, where they won 8-5. In the championship game, The Cats played Hesston. After fighting hard, they came out on top, beating Hesston 8-5.

The varsity has taken first place in their first three meets of the season, and the team as a whole has won their first five. They have benefited greatly from the experience they have gotten on the courts. Most freshmen on the team participated in the junior high tennis program that was started two years ago, and Anderson believes this has helped allow the team to grow.

“I think the biggest thing that has helped our team the most this season, and last season, is that nearly all of the girls have been through our junior high program as well as being out with us on the tennis courts each summer,” Anderson said. “They have spent a lot of time on courts and it allows us as coaches to ‘open up a playbook’ a little bit more with our players at a younger age.

“In the past it has taken until their junior or senior year to become pretty successful, but now we have freshmen coming in with two years of experience already and they are ready for the big stage of varsity competitions.”

The tennis team competes at home today.