Kapaun wins City League tennis
The opposition was all too familiar for Kapaun Mount Carmel and Bishop Carroll in Saturday's City League tennis tournament.
The two schools had faced each other in a dual meet two days earlier, with Kapaun prevailing 6-3.
This time, the Crusaders again came out on top, winning three of the four finals at Wichita State's Coleman Tennis Center for their seventh City League title in a row and fourth consecutive under coach Kathy Schulte.
At No. 1 singles, Kapaun's Abby Stevens defeated the Eagles' Courtney Lubbers, just as she did Thursday. The 6-0, 6-1 score was not only identical to that meeting, but Stevens won by the same score a year ago in the only other time the two have faced each other.
"They're consistent, aren't they?" Schulte joked.
Even though the wind wasn't a factor, fatigue didn't help Lubbers, who had to survive a tough three-set semifinal against Northwest's Lindy Wilkerson to make the final.
"She definitely wore me down," Lubbers said. "Lindy's such a great player; it definitely took out my energy."
Stevens said she didn't take anything for granted in the final.
"She had a great match against Lindy, and I'm sure she was a little tired going into this match," she said. "I knew that couldn't be an excuse for me to let my game up."
Lubbers won the first game of the second set and hung tough throughout, but Stevens' relentless play helped her maintain momentum. Normally, lobs are smashed for winners, but it seemed that Stevens managed to return many of Lubbers' smashes, forcing Lubbers to work even harder.
"I know that she's going to have some good points and win some games, but I can't let that bother me," Stevens said.
Kapaun's Allie Schulte defeated Carroll's Maddie Oxler at No. 2 singles. In Thursday's match, Schulte dropped two games in both sets to Oxler. Saturday, Oxler only won one game.
"There wasn't the wind (Saturday), so it was easier for me to hit through the ball and hit more winners," Schulte said. "My serves were really on today."
Rachael Baldwin and Elizabeth Pringle of Kapaun lost just two first-set games in dispatching Anne Feldkamp and Paige Lauer at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, Carroll's Mary Jo Peter and Lexie Dorn won, defeating Allegra Morton and Priscilla Pringle 6-3, 6-4. This time, Peter and Dorn did not need the tiebreaker they had Thursday to win.
Kapaun captured the tournament, rolling up 70 points in tournament play.
As if Carroll and Kapaun hadn't faced each other enough already, they will be in the same Class 5A regional next Saturday at WSU.
"Having rivals makes everyone play competitively and bring their 'A' game," Stevens said.
At Coleman Tennis Center, Wichita State
Team scores—1. Kapaun Mount Carmel, 18; 2. Bishop Carroll, 16; 3. Northwest, 14; 4. (tie) Heights, 11; 4. (tie) South, 11; 6. East, 8; 7. Southeast, 6; 8. North, 4.
No. 1 singles—First, Stevens, KMC, def. Lubbers, BC, 6-0, 6-1; Third, Wilkerson, NW, def. Leeper, S, 6-1, 6-0; Fifth, Mezquida, H, def. Bolder, SE, 9-3; Seventh, Salim, E, def. Dozal, N, 9-2.
No. 2 singles—First, Schulte, KMC, def. Oxler, BC, 6-1, 6-0; Third, Glover, NW, def, Oltean, H, 6-3, 6-4; Fifth, Smith, E, def. VanCleave, S, injury default; Seventh, Brewer, N, def. Phan, SE, 9-7.
No. 1 doubles—First, Baldwin-E. Pringle, KMC def. Feldkamp-Lauer, BC, 6-2, 6-0; Third, High-Herbert, NW, def. King-Schmidt, H, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0; Fifth, Cunningham-Surender, E, def. Peters-Rhodes, S, 9-2; Seventh, Nguyen-Arline, SE, def. Biby-Duque, N, 9-1.
No. 2 doubles—First, Dorn-Peter, BC, def. Morton-P. Pringle, KMC, 6-3, 6-4; Third, Doerksen-Cavallaro, NW, def. Brewster-Campos, S, 6-2, 6-3; Fifth, Mauk-Wertz, H, def. Choe-Viluethpod, E, 9-4; Seventh, Ramirez-Campos, N, def. Dao-Sayvounkham, 9-8.