By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Of course, Seaman girls tennis coach Jamie Robinson wanted to win Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament.
But with Class 5A regional competition just four days away, Robinson also wanted the city-champion Vikings to continue to play well while continuing to build momentum for the Vikings' two biggest tournaments of the season.
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney repeated as the UKC singles champion Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in UKC singles Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Robinson felt like his team did just that, finishing one-two in singles and one-three in doubles on the way to its fourth straight UKC title by a 75-65 margin over De Soto at Kossover Tennis Center.
"You want to continue to build and play well and continue to get better,'' Robinson said. "That's one thing we talk about, is trying to get better every day, and we wanted to build momentum going into regionals and I think we did that.''
Seaman's Peyton Henry (left) and Camryn Lux won the doubles title in Tuesday's UKC tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman advanced to the singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking an 8-0 win for her second straight title while Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux took the doubles title with an 8-4 win over De Soto and Kaylyn Hiebsch and Candace Speer bounced back from a semifinal loss to take an 8-4 win over De Soto in the third-place doubles match.
Topeka West finished fourth as a team, led by a fifth-place doubles finish from seniors Taryn Gilbert and Jordan Felsburg while Shawnee Heights finished eighth.
Seaman, Topeka West, Shawnee Heights and Highland Park will all compete in a Class 5A regional tournament on Saturday at Kossover, vying for state tournament berths.
Seaman won a regional title and posted a third-place finish in 5A last season and Robinson feels like his team is where it needs to be to make another strong postseason run.
"I think we have to be pretty happy where we're at,'' Robinson said. "We have pretty much dominated most of our meets and I think we're peaking at the right time and that's what you want. You want a team to peak right at regionals and go into state with a lot of momentum and that's what I think we're doing.''
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE
At Kossover Tennis Center
Team scores
Seaman 75, De Soto 65, Piper 53, Topeka West 37, Basehor-Linwood 36, Lansing 24, Shawnee Heights 17, Leavenworth 14.
Individual results
Singles
Championship -- Sweeney, Seaman, def. Gorman, Seaman, 8-0.
Third -- Gress, De Soto, def. McPherson, Piper, 8-7 (7-2).
Fifth -- Carroll, De Soto, def. England, Piper, 8-4.
Doubles
Championship -- Henry/Lux, Seaman, def. Tuttle/Minihan, De Soto, 8-4.
Third -- Hiebsch/Speer, Seaman, def. Noble/O'Brien, De Soto, 8-4.
Fifth -- Gilbert/Felsburg, Topeka West, def. Ochs/Eidson, Piper, 8-5.
