By ANDREW GILL
TopSports.news
Seaman junior Justin Kruse captured the No. 1 singles title on Wednesday in the Vikings' home boys tennis invitational to lead his team to a second-place team finish.
Kruse dropped just two games in his first three matches of the round-robin tournament before capping the tournament off with an 8-4 victory over Junction City’s Hayden Diestelkamp.
“I feel like my first three matches were pretty clean,'' Kruse said. "In my last match, I hit a wall. I just wasn’t hitting my shots right.''
Kruse was looking forward to playing Shawnee Heights’ usual No. 1 singles player, John Lysaught, but didn't get the chance Wednesday as Lysaught did not compete at the tournament.
“I got one (Class) 5A win over Shawnee Heights, which is a good regional win, but they didn’t bring their true number one player,'' Kruse said. "I’m looking forward to that matchup before regionals.''
Despite being without Lysaught, Shawnee Heights managed to squeak out a 1-point team win over Seaman, 22-21.
The T-Birds got first-place finishes from both No. 2 singles player Paul Quidu and their No. 1 doubles team of Christian Johnson and Garrison Johnson.
Seaman got a title in No. 2 doubles from the team of juniors Landon DiLeonardo and Theo Wagnon.
Highland Park finished third as a team, led by senior Eliseo Barreno, who finished second in No. 2 singles. The Scots also posted a third-place finish in No. 2 doubles.
SEAMAN INVITATIONAL TENNIS
Team scores
Shawnee Heights 22, Seaman 21, Highland Park 12.
Individual results
No. 1 singles -- 1. Justin Kruse, Seaman; 2. Jaden Rodriguez, Shawnee Heights; 3. Luke Formwalt, Maranatha Academy.
No. 2 singles -- 1. Paul Quidu, Shawnee Heights; 2. Eliseo Barreno, Highland Park; 3. Sam Feleay, Seaman.
No. 1 doubles -- 1. Johnson/Johnson, Shawnee Heights; 2. Sullivan/Harden, Seaman; 3. Goodman/Pinter, Maranatha Academy.
No. 2 doubles -- 1. DiLeonardo/Wagnon, Seaman; 2. Giron/DeLaCruz, Shawnee Heights; 3. DeLaTorre/Guerra, Highland Park.
