Collegiate's Withrow wins Class 4A tennis title
PRATT — Collegiate sophomore Brooke Withrow quietly insisted she was lucky on Saturday at the Class 4A girls tennis tournament.
Lucky even though she won her first 4A title 6-2, 6-2 over St. James Academy senior Bree Honer, the defending champion.
"She's a great player," Withrow said. "I definitely got lucky today. I just played my game, stayed relaxed, and it went in my favor today."
Withrow's win helped Collegiate win the team title. The Spartans had won the past two 3-2-1A titles before moving up to 4A this season.
"This is a fun experience," Collegiate coach Dave Hawley said. "Every match counts. "The way this tournament is, you can't take any matches off. So this means a ton."
McPherson's doubles team of Kirsten Holle and Moira Pyle won the championship with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Collegiate's Grace LeMaster and Jillian Johnson, who had won the past two 3-2-1A titles.
Holle finished second in doubles in Class 5A in 2010 and was part of the 5A winning doubles team in 2009.
In singles, Withrow didn't rely on good fortune in the title match. She has a strong serve, forehand, backhand and hits the line with power. But Honer was a formidable opponent.
"The score does not say anything about the match at all," Withrow said. "She's a very good player. Most of our games went to deuce and ads."
The first game of the first set lasted nearly 15 minutes.
"If you watched that match and didn't see the last point of every game, you wouldn't know the score of the game," Hawley said.
He credited Withrow's unwillingness to concede points, no matter how much she trailed. Hawley noted one span during the first set when Withrow scored five straight points to break Honer's serve and take a 4-1 lead.
In the doubles match, LeMaster was going for her fourth championship — she also won as a freshman in 2008. It looked good early as Collegiate took a 3-0 lead and was up 40-15.
"We were loose and carefree," Hawley said. "Then we got the lead, we started playing tighter."
Holle is an experienced doubles player — Pyle isn't. Pyle is the Bullpups' setter on the volleyball team, so she only practiced a handful of times with the tennis team.
"Volleyball is my primary sport," said Pyle, whose brother, Max, won a 5A doubles title in May. "I do both sports; it's a privilege for me."
When they fell behind Collegiate early, Pyle turned to Holle, who picked her up by saying, "Come on, we have nothing to lose. Let's go."
They slowly climbed back into the match by playing a consistent game and continually going deep.
The comeback made the win even more special.
"This is really sweet," said Pyle, whose team also finished third in the team standings. "I'm so excited. I have Kirsten with me to pull me through."
At Pratt
Team scores—Collegiate 58, St. James Academy 35 1/2, McPherson 22 1/2, Hesston 20 1/2, Topeka Hayden 19, Independence 14, Buhler 14, Parsons 12, DeSoto 11, Wellington 9 1/2, Smoky Valley 6, Wamego 6, Abilene 5, Larned 3, Hiawatha 1, KC Sumner 1, Labette County 1/2, Baldwin 1/2, Pratt 1/2, Spring Hill 1/2.
Singles
Championship—Brooke Withrow, Collegiate, def. Bree Honer, St. James, 6-2, 6-2. Third— Grace Schaffer, St. James, def. Ali Anderson, Hesston, 6-4, 6-0. Fifth— Paige Williams, DeSoto, def. Shayla Roath, Buhler, 9-6. Seventh— Esther Cho, Collegiate, def. Paige Hunter, Hayden, 9-4. Ninth— Abbi Groff, Independence def. Jessica VanRanken, Smoky Valley, 9-6. 11th— Sarah Zey, Abilene. def. Camry Holle, McPherson, 9-6.
Semifinals—Withrow def. Schaffer 6-0, 6-1; Honer def. Anderson 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles
Championship—Kirsten Holle-Moira Pyle, McPherson, def. Grace LeMaster-Jillian Johnson, Collegiate, 6-4, 6-3. Third— Keli Dunn-Lindsay Funke, Collegiate, def. Jamie Myers-Jenna Pelter, Hayden, 6-2, 6-2. Fifth— Kiralyn Mosier-Breanne Rogers, Parsons, def. Dani Anderson-Kailey Jenkins, Wellington, 9-4. Seventh— Rachel Shogren-Ashley Weaver, Hesston, def. Dee Mendoza-Erin Wesselowski, Independent, 9-5. Ninth— Rikki Alderson-Kaylee Page, Wamego, def. Molly Gillcrist-Alex Mancuso, St. James, 9-5. 11th— Krysta Wiens-Vickie Dukart, Buhler, def. Bailey Schartz-Danette Unruh, Larned, 9-2.
Semifinals—Holle-Pyle def. Dunn-Funke 6-2, 6-3; LeMaster-Johnson def. Myers-Pelter 6-2, 6-1.