Kapaun, Stevens capture 5A tennis
GODDARD — For Kapaun Mount Carmel's Abby Stevens, the unthinkable was unfolding Saturday at the Class 5A girls tennis championships.
She trailed St. Thomas Aquinas' Natalie Looney 5-2 in the first set of the state final.
"My coach (Kathy Schulte) came up and said, 'Just relax, it's not the end of the world,' and I came back and won the next two games," Stevens said.
Stevens pulled to within 5-4, but Looney took the set — the only time Stevens had dropped a set this season other than a loss to a Blue Valley North player.
"Even though I lost that first set, I had the momentum going," Stevens said.
And it was that momentum that carried her all the way back, dropping one game in the next two sets and defeating Looney, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Schulte said even though her star player's confidence might have wavered, she said she always had confidence in Stevens.
"Even though she was down 5-2, I went up to her and said, 'You're going to win this match,' " she said. "And she was like, 'I can't make everything work,' but I said, 'You're going to win this set.' She didn't win it, but I could feel the tide was turning."
The Crusaders, who won their first state tennis title since winning three consecutive from 2006-08, got the most out of their qualifiers. In addition to Stevens, the doubles team of senior Rachael Baldwin and freshman Elizabeth Pringle outdueled Bishop Carroll's Paige Lauer and Anne Feldkamp 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, for the doubles crown. It was Kapaun's second straight state doubles championship. A year ago Allie Schulte — now the Crusaders' No. 2 singles player — and her older sister Maddie were victorious.
Baldwin and Pringle defeated the Carroll duo for the fourth time in five tries, losing only at Monday's 5A regional.
"We've faced them a lot," Baldwin said. "I think second set we kind of got down and we were disorganized, and then third set we were down 0-3, but we came back and decided we really wanted it."
Stevens and the doubles team accounted for 36 of the Crusaders' of 48 points. Allie Schulte's fourth place accounted for the other 12.
Carroll, on Kapaun's heels throughout City League and the regional, was second with 36 1/2 points, followed by Aquinas (32), defending champion Blue Valley (31 1/2), Salina Central (14 1/2) and Blue Valley Southwest (12). Among area teams, Andover was seventh (12), Valley Center ninth (8) and Andover Central 10th (8).
It was a day where long matches took over, as the first- and third-place singles matches and the first-place doubles match went a grueling three sets.
Unfortunately for Aquinas, the Saints were left to wonder what might have been after their top doubles team was disqualified Friday for having competed in too many matches. The team of Melinda Johnson and Lauren Huddlestun, who were 34-0 coming in, were not allowed to compete. Coach David Shriver told The Kansas City Star that participation in a tournament is counted as one day, and a dual meet counts as a half-day. The duo had played in six tournaments and four duals (eight days total). However, Shriver told The Star that he hadn't figured in another tournament in which each played a singles match, which gave them a total of nine days, one more than the KSHSAA allows. Had they won the doubles crown, Aquinas likely would have captured the state title.
Her Eagles might have come up short against Kapaun, but coach Monica Peter was still pleased, and with good reason.
"Awesome finish for us, best we've ever finished as far as I know," she said. "The great thing about it is we brought six girls, and every girl contributed a point. We're thrilled."
Kathy Schulte said a key to the title was the Crusaders' play on the opening day of the tournament Friday.
"That gave us all the confidence in the world," she said. "Everybody getting into the semis, you're in the driver's seat. Knowing the worst you can do is fourth is very empowering. For the most part, it was just huge."
Schulte said that the championship finally puts her on an even footing with one of her Kapaun colleagues.
"There's a teacher at Kapaun who has a state title, and she is always teasing about the fact of how she had this 'Dream Team,' and she didn't know anything about tennis," Schulte said. "Every time I see her, she's like 'Yes, but I have a state title.' So now, tomorrow I get to go back to her and say, 'Well I have a state title now as a coach.' "
At Goddard
Team scores—Kapaun Mount Carmel 48, Bishop Carroll 36 1/2, St. Thomas Aquinas 32, Blue Valley 31 1/2. Salina Central 14 1/2, BV Southwest 12, Andover 12, Salina South 11, Valley Center 8, Andover Central 8, Hays 7, Bishop Miege 6, Topeka West 4, Arkansas City 3, Great Bend 1 1/2, Newton 1, Topeka Seaman 1/2, Winfield 1/2.
Singles
First—Abby Stevens, KMC, def. Natalie Looney, STA, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. Third— Morgan Steffes, BV, def. Allie Schulte, KMC, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6). Fifth— Courtney Lubbers, BC, def. Maddie Oxler, BC, 9-0. Seventh— Kelly O'Farrell, BVSW, def. Amy Fugit, AC, 9-6; Ninth— Marisa Mitchell, SS, def. Adreanne Orlanes, STA, 9-5. Eleventh— Krista Sellers, VC, def. Taylor Westrom, BVSW, 9-5.
Doubles
First—Rachael Baldwin-Elizabeth Pringle, KMC, def. Paige Lauer-Anne Feldkamp, BC, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Third— Gabrielle Briggs-Mackenzie Morris, SC, def. Mel Mihelic-Abby White, And, 6-1, 7-6 (1); Fifth—Morgan Hicks-Carri Olberding, STA, def. Jessie Alexander-Payton Meyer, BV, 9-5. Seventh— Jenny Moon-Shivani Patel, BV, def. Bonnie McRae-Emily Wyse, Hays, 9-3. Ninth— Kalyn Heyen-Sophi McArthur, Miege, def. Cassidy Cook-Molly Courbot, SS, 9-5. Eleventh— Brett Fair-Laura Dicus, TWest, def. Katie Bauguess-Jill Seidl, VC, 9-5.