By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Perseverance was the word of the day for Topeka West's Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew in the seniors' run to the doubles championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center.
Topeka West seniors Caden McGee (left) and Caleb Weybrew celebrate a point in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Both McGee and Weybrew had to fight their way through cramping issues from the end of their semifinal match on and were forced to sweat out tiebreakers in both the semifinals and finals before claiming their first title of the season with an 8-7 (7-5 tiebreaker) decision over Blue Valley Southwest.
McGee and Weybrew's win in the championship match came after a hard-earned 8-7 (7-4 tiebreaker) victory over Washburn Rural's Lawsen Lobatos and Dylan Willingham in the semis.
Throw in a two-hour weather delay at the start of the tournament and a short rain interruption late in the final and it was a long but very successful day for the Charger duo, which improved to 17-3 on the season.
"I would say we persevered way more today than we ever have in past tournaments,'' Weybrew said after he and McGee wrapped up a 6-0 day. "Even when we were sore we were like, 'We'll go out and give it a try.' ''
"It (leg cramps) bothered me, when I was jumping especially, but we just pushed through,'' McGee said.
Topeka West's Caden McGee (above) and doubles partner Caleb Weybrew went 6-0 Tuesday to win the doubles title in the Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Weybrew and McGee, who placed ninth in Class 5A doubles a year ago for the team-champion Chargers, are getting the opportunity to lead West this spring after playing No. 2 doubles between two-time state champs Ian and Miles Cusick through their first three high school seasons.
"They helped us a lot,'' Weybrew said of the Cusicks. "We always saw their fast serves and all their good volleys so that helped us get ready to face those this season.''
"They did a lot for our program,'' McGee said. "And now that Caleb and I are the No. 1 doubles team, it's kind of our time to shine a little bit.''
Now, with a title under their belts, McGee and Weybrew will be looking to parlay Tuesday's success into a big stretch run.
"This is our tournament, so that makes it a little bit special to come out with a win and we knew Blue Valley was a big team to beat because they're in our regional,'' McGee said.
"This is very big,'' Weybrew said. "In the past few tournaments we lost some matches that we shouldn't have lost and this tournament has helped show that we can win and we can always have a chance.''
Washburn Rural senior Lawsen Lobatos (left) and sophomore Dylan Willingham finished third in doubles to lead Rural to a second-place team finish in the Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Lobatos, a senior, and sophomore Willingham bounced back from their semifinal loss to West to finish third in the 11-school tournament with an 8-5 win over Blue Valley Southwest in the third-place match.
Keegan Knudtson added a sixth-place singles finish for the Junior Blues, who finished second as a team to Blue Valley Southwest, which won the title by an 89-65 margin over Rural.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
At Kossover Tennis Center
Team scores
Blue Valley Southwest 89, Washburn Rural 65, Lawrence 61, Olathe South 60, Topeka West 54, Salina Central 43, Hayden 33, Kansas City Christian 31, Shawnee Heights 25, Bishop Seabury 23, Marysville 17.
Individual results
Singles
Championship -- Bartels, Kansas City Christian, def. Rajkumar, Blue Valley Southwest, 8-5.
Third -- Wirth, Blue Valley Southwest, def. Fosha, Olathe South, 8-2.
Fifth -- Bauch, Lawrence, def. Knudtson, Washburn Rural, 8-6.
Doubles
Championship -- McGee/Weybrew, Topeka West, def. Orme/Cook, Blue Valley Southwest, 8-7 (7-5).
Third -- Lobatos/Willingham, Washburn Rural, def. Jagannath/Reddy, Blue Valley Southwest, 8-5.
Fifth -- Daniels/Lavin, Lawrence, def. Traudt/Hodapp, Olathe South, 8-7 (7-1).
