TOPEKA — Wrapping up one of the best seasons in recent memory, the Chanute Blue Comets placed seventh at the KSHSAA 4A Girls Tennis Championships in Topeka over the weekend.
Rylee Smith and Jacqueline Smoot placed sixth in the doubles division while Ella Guernsey finished 12th in singles — the three earned medals for their showings. Leah Burnett went 1-2 over three singles matches.
“What a great way to end a great season,” Chanute head coach Michael DeLaTorre said. “The four members of our team that qualified for this weekend’s state tournament last week at regionals played some great tennis this weekend … All four members contributed points to the team total which makes the event even more special.”
Smith and Smoot played Parsons’ Manaye Ryan and Kadence Ball in their first match of state in a rematch from the regional semifinals.
Ryan and Ball took the match in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 5-7 (8).
“The loss lit a spark in them and in their play and determination,” DeLaTorre said.
The Chanute duo responded by rattling off four straight wins over Isley Lee and Elizabeth Larson of Clay Center, 8-0, Caroline Barnes and Annabelle Gorman of Fort Scott, 8-4, Kennedy Tully and McKenna Paul of McPherson, 8-5, and Logan Robinson and Addi Thomson of Wellington, 9-8 (5).
The two’s state tournament ended with an 8-4 loss to Avery Baer and Meredith Kuntz of Chapman in the fifth place match.
“These two ladies had an awesome season, and I am so proud of how much they improved throughout both the summer and the season,” DeLaTorre said.
Guernsey opened the state tournament with two wins, beating Allison Zimmerman of Colby, 6-3, 6-4 and Ella Daniel of Bishop Miege, 6-4, 6-3, before being relegated with a loss to Sophia Heger of Winfield, 6-2, 6-3.
While the two wins guaranteed a medal for Guernsey, she dropped her next three matches to Elise Richardson of Augusta, 8-1, Grace Funk of Hayden, 8-3, and Sophia Scrimsher of Perry-Lecompton, 8-1.
“Saturday was a difficult day for Ella. It seemed that her hard play on Friday took its toll on her,” DeLaTorre said. “She just couldn’t get that energy and movement she had on Friday going on Saturday, and she lost three matches to three very good players. Ella had an awesome season.”
Leah Burnett won her first match at state, beating Buhler’s Ashlyn Coker, 6-2, 6-2, before losing to Sophia Spies of Buhler, 6-1, 6-0 and Allison Zimmerman of Colby, 8-5.
“She also played great tennis, and I am also proud of the effort she gave,” DeLaTorre said.
Hayden won the team state title, scoring 40 points to run away with the trophy. McPherson claimed runner-up with 28 points, followed by Independence in third with 26.
“What a fantastic season, and I am so proud of not only these four ladies who went to state, but also proud of the other 22 ladies on the team,” DeLa-Torre said. “They all worked hard, all the while maintaining good grades and attendance at school. But the future looks so bright. Three of those who qualified for state, both this year and last year, will be back. We had a great JV season, and a lot of our younger players will be working hard over next summer and into next season, fighting for a position on the varsity.”
