LADY BULLPUP JV TENNIS – LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Win 3 of 4 Divisions!

By Staff

WINFIELD – On Thursday, the McPherson girls junior varsity tennis team traveled to Winfield to compete in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division 3/4 League Tournament and returned home as the league team champion while sweeping both doubles competition and earning a championship in number two singles.

“Today was the final day of our junior varsity season and we had a beautiful day for competition,” noted junior varsity coach Ricardo Sanchez. “The girls all were ready for business as we arrived at the courts and the results of the day showed how focused they were.”

As a team, the Lady Bullpups rolled up 67 points which won the league title by a whopping 16 points over Wellington and Buhler who tied for second with 51 points each. Wichita Collegiate, Winfield, Augusta, Circle, and El Dorado rounded out the teams competing.

Starting with number one singles, Kennedy Tully came in seeded third but defeated the number two seed from Wellington in a semi-final match before running into a consistent player from Buhler in the finals. The consistency of the Buhler player proved to be a bit much for Tully in the tiebreaker of the match which meant Tully finished the day 2-1 in matches and runner-up to the league champion.

The Lady Bullpups earned their first league champion medal with McKenna Paul in number two singles as she went 3-0 for the championship win. In her final match, Paul started going for her shots and playing outstandingly in the opening game. After she made a few errors and started playing a little more timid, she made the match closer than it should have been but was able to do enough down the stretch to keep her lead and defeat the player from Buhler.

Speaking of his singles girls, coach Sanchez added, “Kennedy (Tully) had a great season and if she can work on a few things, she will be primed for an even better senior season. Once McKenna (Paul) begins to confidently go for her shots and understand shot selection, she is going to be a handful for anyone on the court.”

McPherson took league titles in both number one and number two doubles, going a combined 6-0.

At number one doubles, Erin Olson and Avery Eveland continued some amazing doubles play. In their final match against Buhler, Olson and Eveland went up big but had a bit of a hiccup in closing out the match. After a short talk with the coaches, they were able to finish out their opponents for the championship win.

Discussing Olson and Eveland, coach Sanchez explained, “With everyone playing their matches at the same time, it is nice as a coach to know these two can handle long stretches of a match on their own so I can focus on other players. These two have so much chemistry on the court and compliment each other so well, it is always fun to watch.”

Jordan Martens and Piper VanCampen also went 3-0 and earned a league championship at number two doubles.

“It was so much fun to see Jordan (Martens), one of our seniors, play today,” pointed out coach Sanchez. “There was a smile on her face the entire time she was on the court as she was out there having fun! On of the reason I wanted to pair Jordan with freshman Piper (VanCampen) was with the hope that Piper would pick up on Jordan’s great attitude and energy. Piper played one her most consistent tournaments today, not making any errors and a force at the net. Jordan has been one of our most coachable players, always ready to listen on changeovers and then go and try to execute whatever the coach asked.”

Coach Sanchez concluded his post league tournament reflections by commenting, “Our focus now shifts to our varsity group as they try to finish out the season with continued growth. We have a tough stretch with the Varsity League meet on Monday, then Class 4A regionals next Friday and hopefully State after that! We will need to buckle down and get to work in practice in order to achieve our greatest potential.”

MCPHERSON LADY BULLPUP JUNIOR VARSITY TENNIS at AVCTL Meet in Winfield

TEAM SCORING > 1. LADY BULLPUPS – 67; T-2. Wellington/Buhler – 51; 4. Wichita Collegiate – 37; 5. Winfield – 35; 6. Augusta – 24; 7. Circle – 13; 8. El Dorado – 2.

LADY BULLPUP INDIVIDUAL RESULTS >

#1 SINGLES > Kennedy Tully went 2-1, finished 2nd.

#2 SINGLES > McKenna Paul went 3-0, League Champion

#1 DOUBLES > Erin Olson / Avery Eveland went 3-0, League Champions

#2 DOUBLES > Jordan Martens / Piper VanCampen went 3-0, League Champions

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