By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

            MCPHERSON – The McPherson High girls tennis program hosted an invitational and scored a team championship as well as an individual championship on Thursday.

            Scoring 56 team points, the Lady Bullpup Red team won the invitational as Goddard Eisenhower finished second with 48. The Lady Bullpup White team placed sixth with 24 points. Other teams participating were Newton, Valley Center, Derby, Great Bend and Salina Sacred Heart.

            “Our first home varsity meet is always a good one for our team because we get to enter two teams,” explained Lady Bullpup head coach Tyler Brown. “Our Red team had everyone make the semifinals which helped them win the invitational. I was extremely proud of our effort as an entire team, but we still have a lot of growing up to do as you can tell this team has zero seniors on it.”

            Leading the Red Team to victory was the sister doubles duo of Rigg and Brodie Kuhn as they went 4-0 on the day to win the doubles competition.

            The other Red Team doubles tandem of Paige Stucky and Kennedy Tully went 2-2 for the day and finished fourth while the Sandbo sisters competed in the singles competition with Maryn going 3-1 and placing third while Kyndall finished 2-2 and lost to her sister to place fourth.

            Speaking of the Red Team, coach Brown said, “We were led by Riggs and Brodie Kuhn while the Sandbo sisters also had a tremendous day making the semifinals and then finishing third and fourth. Even our second doubles team of Paige (Stucky) and Kennedy (Tully) started the day well by winning their first two matches to make the semifinals before dropping their final two matches to place fourth.”

            The McPherson White Team finished sixth as the doubles duo of Avery Eveland and Erin Olson had the highest finish as they went 2-2 and landed in sixth. Taiya Young and Lauren Rogers, the other doubles duo lost their first set of the day before bouncing back through the consolation bracket to finish ninth and going 3-1.

            In singles, Jordan Martens finished thirteenth and Jadin Nowell placed sixteenth for the White Team.

            Discussing the White Team, Brown added, “Team White was a roster of girls that typically play junior varsity but today were able to get some valuable varsity level experience and get a taste of what it takes to win at the varsity level which many of them did. They were led by the doubles teams of Avery Eveland and Erin Olson who placed sixth and Taiya Young and Lauren Rogers who won the consolation bracket.”

            Concluding his reflections on the invitational, coach Brown noted, “We are a very emotional team that struggles to just relax and have fun. I realize some of that comes from many of them being perfectionists, but even the best players make mistakes. If we can let it go and respond in a positive way that is what matters. I saw a lot of tears and stern looks at the end of the night and only saw a few smiles. That can be good and bad. We are winning but we need to enjoy the moment as well and give our teammates some grace. When you think of winning back-to-back tournaments to star the season, and you are seeing girls win in positions they have never played, or you have freshmen coming on the scene and doing well you think the body language would be much better. But like with any team, we will talk about our strengths and weaknesses while continuing to improve each week. Out talent is among some of the best, but we really need to improve in our mental and emotional game to make a serious run at the end of the season.”

            The Lady Bullpup tennis team is now off the competitive court until Saturday, September 10 when they head north to battle in the Salina Central Invitational.

MCPHERSON GIRLS TENNIS INVITATIONAL

TEAM RESULTS:

LADY BULLPUP RED – 56; Goddard Eisenhower – 48; Newton – 41; Valley Center – 38; Derby – 25; LADY BULLPUP WHITE – 24; Great Bend – 20; Salina Sacred Heart – 19.

LADY BULLPUP TEAM RED RESULTS:

Singles:

  • Maryn Sandbo finished 3-1 placed 3rd
  • Kyndall Sandbo finished 2-2 placed 4th

Doubles:

  • Rigg Kuhn/Brodie Kuhn went 4-0 placed 1st
  • Paige Stucky/Kennedy Tully finished 2-2 placed 4th

LADY BULLPUP TEAM WHITE RESULTS:

Singles:

  • Jordan Martens finished 2-2 placed 13th
  • Jadin Nowell finished 0-4 placed 16th

Doubles:

  • Avery Eveland/Erin Olson finished 2-2 placed 6th
  • Taiya Young/Lauren Rogers finished 3-1 placed 9th

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