By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Two seasons, two United Kansas Conference championships for the Seaman girls tennis team.
Seaman girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning its second straight United Kansas Conference championship Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After winning the UKC title in their first season in the conference a year ago, the Vikings defended their title by a 69-61 margin over De Soto on Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, with Seaman placing all four of its entries in the top five places in the eight-school meet..
"It was a very good day,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "I think we're peaking as a team.''
Seaman sophomore Molly Gorman teamed with Katie Krumins to win a second straight UKC doubles championship Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Katie Krumins won a second straight UKC doubles title Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, with the Vikings winning their second straight UKC team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Katie Krumins and sophomore Molly Gorman won the UKC doubles title for the second straight year, taking an 8-2 win over De Soto to cap a 5-0 day while winning 40 of 42 games.
"You feel like you have to defend your title and it's like, 'We've really got to do this,' '' Krumins said. "Especially because it's a new team and that doesn't guarantee you the same thing every year, so you keep trying to do your best. We've all had some tough losses and I think that has really helped our mentality, knowing that we know what to do when we're under pressure.''
Gorman agreed with Krumins that it was very important for the duo to be at their best Tuesday.
"Personally, for me, it was like, 'We've got to keep it up,' '' Gorman said. "I want to win this all throughout high school. I'm already halfway there so might as well keep it going. We were just on our 'A' game today, compared to previous tournaments.''
The Vikings also got second and fifth-place singles finishes from freshman Emma Sweeney and junior Sidney Chinn while senior Kate Eckert and freshman Cami Lux added a third-place doubles finish.
"I thought Sidney played well in the back half of the matches and both doubles teams did well, and Emma played well, she just ran into a juggernaut,'' Robinson said.
Shawnee Heights junior Jette Glasenapp went 5-0 while losing just five games on the day to earn the United Kansas Conference singles title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman freshman Emma Sweeney finished second in UKC singles Tuesday, helping the Vikings win their second straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior German foreign exchange student Jette Glasenapp rolled to the UKC singles title with a 5-0 day while losing just five games on the day. Glasenapp capped her title run with an 8-2 win over Seaman's Sweeney.
"I played pretty good, I think,'' Glasenapp said. "Not my best, but it was good.''
Glasenapp will compete in a Class 5A regional Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center, hoping to cap her lone season of high school tennis with a trip to state.
"I'm pretty excited,'' Glasenapp said. "I'm a bit nervous but I'm excited to play and hopefully go to state.''
After a tough semifinal loss, Ekert and Lux and bounced back for an 8-5 win over De Soto's second doubles team in the third-place match.
Topeka West finished sixth and Shawnee Heights seventh in the UKC team standings.
Seaman, Topeka West and Shawnee Heights will all be back at Kossover for Saturday's regional tournament, vying for berths in the state tournament Oct. 13-14 at Salina.
"We saw some of the same competition so that should make us comfortable going into regionals,'' Robinson said. "I like our chances and I like how we've been practicing.''
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCEGIRLS TENNIS
At Kossover Tennis Center
Team scores
Seaman 69, De Soto 61, Lansing 42, Basehor-Linwood 40, Piper 35, Topeka West 26, Shawnee Heights 25, Leavenworth 24.
Individual results
Singles
Championship -- Glasenapp, Shawnee Heights, def. Sweeney, Seaman, 8-2.
Third -- Batista, Lansing, def. Albright, De Soto, 8-5
Fifth -- Chinn, Seaman, def. Bockman, Leavenworth, 8-2.
Doubles
Championship -- Krumins/Gorman, Seaman, def. Ensley/O'Brien, De Soto, 8-2.
Third -- Eckert/Lux, Seaman, def. Lawson/Ortiz, Manhattan, 8-5.
Fifth -- Wessel/Cape, Lansing, def. Unruh/Vanderweide, Basehor-Linwood, 8-6.
