LADY BULLPUP TENNIS WINS REGIONALS

KUHN SISTER WIN DOUBLES

By Staff

BUHLER – According to the coaches it was an amazing day for the McPherson girls tennis team as they won their Class 4A State Regional Tournament in Buhler on Friday with all six girls qualifying for the state tournament.

“What an amazing day going into a tournament hoping you have your team ready to show why they belong on the biggest stage of high school tennis,” noted Lady Bullpup head coach Tyler Brown. “After you spend nearly two hours trying to place the girls where you believe they belong on their brackets you walk out of there with all the emotions of competition. I could not have ben more proud of how our girls showed up to compete, you could see it on their faces when we arrived though several, you could tell did not enjoy the weather as it was an overcast day and needless to say, not the best of conditions.”

As a team, the Lady Bullpups took first with 18 points. Chapman, Buhler and Augusta rounded out the top four of eight teams competing.

The sister tandem of Riggs and Brodie Kuhn went unbeaten, 4-0, for the day and won the doubles competition.

Speaking of the Kuhn sisters, coach Brown said, “Riggs (Kuhn) is leaving her mark in in McPherson tennis history by winning her third straight regional championship. Brodie (Kuhn) teaming up with her older sister has been the other half of this doubles tandem and she now has back-to-back regional championships. The stat line for these two was amazing as they went 4-0 in matches played and then won 48 of 50 games played for a 96% winning rate. When these two play you get to sit back in a lot of their matches and enjoy the show as they are fun to watch.”

In singles it was the other sister duo for the Lady Bullpups as Maryn Sandbo went 3-1 and finished third while Kyndall Sandbo went 2-2 and placed fourth, earning each a spot at the state tournament.

“Maryn (Sandbo) finished third in the singles draw and is starting to play some of her best tennis,” explained coach Brown. “She went 3-1 for the day while Kyndall (Sandbo) finished fourth after going 2-2. We are pretty fortunate to have another set of sisters that are capable of making the semifinals of a regional tournament. Kyndall met Elyssa Frieze of Chapman in the semifinals. Elyssa was the number one seed at regionals and likely will be at state as well. The number two seed, Elise Richardson of Augusta defeated Maryn in the other semifinal which meant it became an all-Sandbo showdown for the third-place match. With Maryn and Kyndall Sandbo, you get to appreciate the fight they have when it is time to compete. They bring a fire to their matches that most players do not have as nobody is going to bully them on the court.”

“Avery Unruh and Alexandria Rodriguez, both just freshmen, earned their way into our top six and came through in a big way,” pointed out coach Brown. “With two young players you never know how they will respond on the big stage for the first time, and they handled themselves quite well.”

With Unruh and Rodriguez finishing 2-2 for the day placing them sixth, they also qualified for the state meet.

Coach Brown concluded his post regionals reflections by adding, “Nothing feels better than having your entire team qualifying for state. I would like to say thank you to coach Ricardo Sanchez as he does an amazing job in everything he does. His passion and skill set is absolutely awesome! This team has put themselves in a position to make some noise at the state tournament, now we get to go see how we stack up with the rest of the Class 4A schools in Kansas.”

The Class 4A State Tournament will be at the T.H. Vaughan Tennis Center in Winfield and hosted by Wellington High School on Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14.

MCPHERSON LADY BULLPUP TENNIS at Class 4A Regionals in Buhler

TEAM STANDINGS > 1. LADY BULLPUPS – 18; 2. Chapman – 16; 3. Buhler – 10; 4. Augusta – 8; 5. Circle – 6; t-7. Abilene/Concordia/El Dorado – 0.

LADY BULLPUP INDIVIDUAL RESULTS >

SINGLES >

3. Maryn Sandbo – finished 3-1 (qualified for state)

4. Kyndall Sandbo – finished 2-2 (qualified for state)

DOUBLES >

1. Riggs Kuhn / Brodie Kuhn – finished 4-0 (qualified for state)

6. Avery Unruh / Alexandria Rodriguez – finished 2-2 (qualified for state)

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)