The 2022 All-Shawnee County girls tennis team -- Front row, from left: Haley Carpenter, Topeka High; Katie Krumins, Seaman; Lauren Sweeney, Seaman; Nina Del-Zio, Seaman; Emily Sheetz, Hayden; Ainzley Zulueta, Hayden; Meredith Kucera, Washburn Rural; Mena DiMarzio, Washburn Rural. Back row, from left: Adisyn Caryl, Topeka High; Annika Scheller, Shawnee Heights; Molly Gorman, Seaman; Lauren Sandstrom, Hayden; Hailey Beck, Washburn Rural; Kate Fritz, Washburn Rural; Ciana Evans, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's state championship trio of Lauren Sandstrom, Emily Sheetz and Ainzley Zulueta headline the 2022 All-Shawnee County girls tennis team, which includes nine state medalists.
Zulueta, a sophomore, finished off a 28-2 season with her second straight Class 4A state singles championship while Sandstrom, a junior, and sophomore Sheetz won the state doubles title to cap a 34-4 season as Hayden won its first-ever girls state tennis championship after earlier winning city and regional titles.
Seaman senior Lauren Sweeney, a four-year state qualifier in 5A, capped her high school career with a second-place state singles finish after winning the 5A doubles championship as a junior.
Sweeney is joined on the All-Shawnee County team by Viking senior two-time state medalist Nina Del-Zio and 5A doubles medalists Katie Krumins, a junior, and freshman Molly Gorman, who helped Seaman win United Kansas Conference and regional team titles.
Washburn Rural placed five of its varsity players on the all-county team after the Junior Blues won a 6A regional team title and finished second in the Centennial League tournament.
The Junior Blues got a ninth-place finish in the 6A state tournament from the senior doubles team of Kate Fritz and Meredith Kucera while senior Hailey Beck made it to state in doubles and junior Mena DiMarzio advanced in singles. Senior Ciana Evans earned an all-county spot by teaming with Beck to win the city title in No. 2 doubles.
Topeka High seniors Haley Carpenter and Adisyn Caryl made the all-county team after advancing to the 6A state tournament for the third straight season as doubles partners. Caryl made it to state four straight years in doubles.
Annika Scheller, a junior foreign exchange student from Germany, earned an all-county berth with a third-place No. 1 singles finish in the city tournament and also placed fourth in the UKC meet.
All-Shawnee County capsules:
HAILEY BECK, Washburn Rural -- Beck, a senior, won her second straight city championship in No. 2 doubles, teaming with Ciana Evans for this year's title. Beck and Evans finished fourth in Centennial League doubles and Beck teamed with Claire Ireland to earn a Class 6A state doubles berth with a third-place regional finish.
HALEY CARPENTER, Topeka High -- A senior, Carpenter and Adisyn Caryl made it to the 6A state tournament for the third straight season as doubles partners, finishing second in 6A regional competition. Carpenter and Caryl also finished fourth in the city in No. 1 doubles and third in the Centennial League.
ADISYN CARYL, Topeka High -- Caryl, a senior, and Carpenter qualified for the 6A state tournament for the third straight season, finishing second in 6A regional competition. Caryl, a four-time state qualifier, and Carpenter finished fourth in the city in No. 1 doubles and third in the Centennial League in doubles.
NINA DEL-ZIO, Seaman -- Del-Zio, a senior, earned a 5A state medal for the second straight season, placing ninth in singles last weekend after an 11th-place finish as a junior. Del-Zio won the city title in No. 2 singles, placed third in the United Kansas Conference meet in singles and fourth at regionals.
MENA DIMARZIO, Washburn Rural -- A junior, DiMarzio made it to the 6A state tournament with a third-place regional finsh in singles. DiMarzio finished fourth in the city meet in No. 1 singles and was fifth in the Centennial League in singles.
CIANA EVANS, Washburn Rural -- Evans, a senior, teamed with Hailey Beck to win the city championship in No. 2 doubles and Evans and Beck also teamed up to post a fourth-place finish in doubles in the Centennial League tournament. Evans missed the regional and 6A state meets due to illness.
KATE FRITZ, Washburn Rural -- Fritz, a senior, teamed with Meredith Kucera to place ninth in the 6A state meet for the second straight season. Fritz and Kucera won Centennial League and 6A regional doubles championships. Fritz and Kucera finished third in the city meet in No. 1 doubles.
MOLLY GORMAN, Seaman -- Gorman teamed with Katie Krumins to earn a berth in the 5A state tournament as a freshman, with the duo placing 12th in doubles. Gorman and Krumins won United Kansas Conference and 5A regional championships and placed second in No. 1 doubles in the city tournament.
KATIE KRUMINS, Seaman -- Krumins, a junior, teamed with Molly Gorman to win United Kansas Conference and 5A regional doubles championships. Krumins and Gorman finished second in the city meet in No. 1 doubles and posted a 12th-place state finish.
MEREDITH KUCERA, Washburn Rural -- A senior, Kucera partnered with Fritz to place ninth in 6A state doubles two straight seasons after winning Centennial League and 6A regional championships this fall. Fritz and Kucera also finished third in the city meet in No. 1 doubles.
LAUREN SANDSTROM, Hayden -- Sandstrom, a junior, and Emily Sheetz capped their 2022 season with a state championship in 4A doubles, helping lead the Wildcats to the state team title. Sandstrom and Sheetz won city and regional titles and finished second in the Centennial League meet. Sandstrom and Sheetz finished seventh at state in 2021.
ANNIKA SCHELLER, Shawnee Heights -- A junior foreign exchange student from Germany, Scheller placed third in the city meet in No. 1 singles. Scheller also placed fourth in singles in the United Kansas Conference tournament. Scheller was forced to miss the regional tournament due to a scheduling conflict.
EMILY SHEETZ, Hayden -- Sheetz, a sophomore, and Sandstrom won the 4A doubles state championship after posting a seventh-place state finish in 2021. Sheetz and Sandstrom helped lead the Wildcats to the 4A team championship last weekend after winning city and regional championships. Sheetz and Sandstrom took second in the Centennial League.
LAUREN SWEENEY, Seaman -- Sweeney capped her high school career with a runner-up state finish in 5A singles after teaming with Grace Unruh to win the state doubles title as a junior. Sweeney won United Conference and regional singles titles and finished second in the city meet in No. 1 singles. Sweeney and Unruh were fourth at state in 2020.
AINZLEY ZULUETA, Hayden -- Just a sophomore, Zulueta captured the 4A state singles title for the second straight season, going 28-2 on the season to help lead Hayden to the state team title. Zulueta was the city champ in No. 1 singles, placed second to former 6A state champ Jill Harkin in the Centennial League meet and won a regional championship.
