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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2024 college volleyball season couldn't have gotten off to a much better start for Washburn University sophomore libero Taylor Rottinghaus.
Taylor Rottinghaus
Rottinghaus has helped lead the No. 24-ranked Ichabods to a 9-1 non-conference record and the former three-sport Shawnee Heights standout picked up an added bonus earlier this week when she was named the MIAA Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week by the conference.
Rottinghaus became the first Ichabod to earn weekly conference recognition this season and earned the honor for the first time in her career.
"It's awesome, it's exciting,'' Rottinghaus said. "I was very surprised, actually. I didn't know that they were already starting up with the awards for the MIAA, so getting that award was just surreal because we haven't even started conference play yet.''
Washburn sophomore Taylor Rottinghaus was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Ichabods post three straight 3-0 sweeps last week. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Rottinghaus helped the Ichabods to a 3-0 week at the PSU Regional Challenge with 3-0 sweeps over Missouri S&T, Harding and Henderson State. Rottinghaus recorded 59 digs across WU's three matches (6.56 per set) while adding seven assists and serving four service aces on the weekend.
In the win over Harding, Rottinghaus recorded 29 digs over the three sets, tying for the eighth most digs in a three-set match in program history.
"I was extremely proud of getting that award because I've been working my butt off with my team -- like everybody has been -- but just to get recognized even though I don't get to score the points, I just get to help my team score the points, that was awesome,'' she said.
Veteran Washburn coach Chris Herron said that every honor that comes Rottinghaus' way is well-deserved.
"She's athletic, she's fearless,'' Herron said. "She's hard on herself and that's the only part that I don't like. She's harder on herself than I am ever hard on her. That can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing, so we just try to make sure that she's in a good space in her head because her athleticism takes over everything else.''
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The Seaman volleyball team, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, hosted a triangular on Tuesday with United Kansas Conference rivals Piper and Lansing.
Seaman improved to 15-1 while running its win streak to 15 matches with UKC sweep Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
After slow starts to begin each set, Seaman won its first match of the night, taking a 25-21, 25-13 win over Piper.
The opening set was back and forth, with Seaman taking a 9-5 lead before Piper came back to take a 10-8 lead. Seaman regained the lead at 19-16, forcing a Piper timeout, before the Vikings closed out the first set, 25-21.
Set 2 began as a repeat of the first with no team building a lead more than two points. Seaman was able to extend its lead to 13-9, which caused Piper to use a timeout. Seaman continued its scoring surge with three straight service points from junior Kinsley Smith, stretching the lead to 18-11. Seaman finished out the second set and the match, winning 25-13.
The Lady Vikes were led in service points by Kinsley Smith and senior Kinley Wilhelm. Seniors Maegan Mills and Ava Esser led the team in kills. Senior Maggie Moulden led in blocks, while senior Campbell Chabot and junior Harper Hafenstine led in assists. Wilhelm and Mills led the Vikings in digs.
In the final match of night, Seaman battled the Lions from Lansing. After a great start in Set 1, the second set was a close battle, but the Vikings swept the Lions, 25-15, 25-23.
Set one saw the Lady Vikes start aggressively, both offensively and defensively, taking an 11-5 lead. Seaman extended the lead to 17-10, forcing Lansing to take their final timeout of the set. The Lady Vikes finished off the set, winning 25-15.
In Set 2 Lansing jumped out to a 7-3 lead, but the Lady Vikes charged back to take a 10-8 lead, causing a Lansing timeout. The remainder of the set saw neither team have a lead larger than two points. The Vikings held on to win the set and the match, 25-23.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls tennis team tuned up for Thursday's city tournament with a strong showing in Tuesday's Washburn Rural Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center, led by sophomore singles champion Emma Sweeney.
Seaman sophomore Emma Sweeney captured the singles championship in Tuesday's Washburn Rural Invitational tennis tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sweeney claimed the singles title with an 8-2 win over Maize senior Rylee Frye in the championship match while the Vikings also got a third-place singles finish from junior Molly Gorman as well as a second-place doubles finish from senior Sidney Chinn and sophomore Peyton Henry and a fifth-place doubles finish from Cameron Lux and Katlyn Hiebsch.
Viking junior Molly Gorman earned a win by injury default over Emporia junior Kali Keough in the third-place singles match while Chinn and Henry dropped an 8-2 decision to Washburn Rural seniors Izzy Haggard and Emerie Catlin in the doubles final while Lux and Hiebsch took an 8-4 win over Maize in the fifth-place doubles match.
"I was more than pleased,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "I thought we competed well and we won the matches we needed to win to get some good seeds at city.''
Senior doubles champions Izzy Haggard and Emerie Catlin of Washburn Rural celebrate a point in Tuesday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Haggard and Catlin's doubles championship paced host Washburn Rural in Tuesday's meet.
"I thought they played with a lot of confidence today and it really showed,'' Washburn Rural coach Brad Johnston said. "They were being aggressive and finishing points early, some of the stuff we've worked on after our first few matches.''
The Junior Blues also got fifth and sixth-place finishes Tuesday from senior Carolina Chedzoy and sophomore Julia Katzer, with Chedzoy taking an 8-5 win in the fifth-place match.
Washburn Rural enters Thursday's city tournament as the defending champion, topping Seaman by a 31-28 margin in 2023 while Hayden finished third with 23 points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls claimed their third straight United Kansas Conference golf team championship in as many tries in Tuesday's league meet at Lake Shawnee while Topeka West senior Alex Baxter got over the hump for the UKC individual title after a pair of near misses.
Baxter shot an 87 to take medalist honors while Seaman dominated the rest of the top five en route to a huge 56-stroke margin over runnerup Basehor-Linwood (372-428) in the team race.
Topeka West senior Alex Baxter shot an 87 to win the individual championship in Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament at Lake Shawnee. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Baxter knew Tuesday was her last chance to claim an individual UKC title and she wanted to do whatever she could to close the deal.
"I'm pretty excited,'' Baxter said. "My sophomore year I placed third here, my junior year I placed second and I was hoping my senior year I would place first, which I accomplished.''
After finishing third as a sophomore and second as a junior, Topeka West senior Alex Baxter shot an 87 to win the individual championship in Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament at Lake Shawnee. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Jaycee Zimmerman finished second in Tuesday's United Kansas Conference golf tournament with an 88, helping Seaman win its third straight league team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Baxter trailed for much of the day but was able to come from behind on her back nine (Lake Shawnee's front nine) for the win, taking a one-stroke victory over Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman, the 2023 conference champion.
"I got a pep talk from my coaches (Richard Mariani and Lynn Riney) and I had to just toughen up and keep going at it,'' Baxter said.
Junior Makenna Stuke shot an 89 to finish third individually for team champion Seaman in Tuesday's United Kansas Conference golf tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Vikings put all six of their golfers in the top 14 spots, with junior Makenna Stuke shooting an 89 to finish in third place while sophomore Katelynn Frye was fourth (97), senior Anna McLaughlin tied for fifth (98), sophomore Chloe Schmidtlein tied for 10th (106) and junior Molina Quintana tied for 14th (110).
Seaman had finished a distant third as a team in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills, 63 strokes behind champion Washburn Rural, but the Vikings cut 17 strokes off their team score on Tuesday.
It was a good team win today, and I am proud of our girls,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "We really struggled in the city tournament yesterday, and our golfers were pretty down, so this was a solid victory to be able to bounce back and lower our scores some today on a challenging course.
"We still have some work to do to get our scores where we want them to be as we get deep into the season, but we feel like today was a boost to our morale.''
Shawnee Heights senior Lyla Blair tied for fifth individually with a 98 while T-Bird sophomore Lauryn Valdivia finished 13th (109).
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A year after having its decade-long city championship run ended by Hayden, Washburn Rural was back in its familiar spot on Monday at Western Hills as seniors Natalie Peterson and Reece Randall posted a one-two individual finish to lead the Junior Blues to an 10-stroke team victory over the Wildcats in the city event.
Washburn Rural's girls golf team poses for a team picture after posting a 10-stroke victory in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It was definitely a goal that we had set before the season started,'' Rural coach Jared Goehring said of Monday's city title. "The girls had a little bit of a sour taste left in their mouth after last year and I thought they stepped up and performed well today, especially there towards the top with Natalie and Reece leading us.''
Washburn Rural senior Natalie Peterson won the individual title in Monday's city tournament with a 77, leading the way as the Junior Blues took a 10-stroke win in the team race. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Reece Randall posted a second-place finish with a 78 in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
For the first time in her career Peterson led Washburn Rural in Monday's event, taking medalist honors with a 77 while Randall was a stroke back in second place.
"I just tried to stay on a par streak and didn't really focus on if I had a bad hole or not,'' Peterson said. "It just makes me feel comfortable to be myself and try my best.''
Washburn Rural also got a tie for sixth from sophomore Kailyn Petersen (84) and an eighth-place finish from junior Lauren Cox (87) to round out the Junior Blues' top four.
Goehring is hopeful that the city title was the start of a strong late-season push for the Junior Blues.
"We definitely have the potential,'' Goehring said. "Any of our six girls can go low for us. We've seen two career rounds by two different players (Peterson and Randall) this year on our roster so we kind of have the mentality that we want to continue to build our depth going into (Centennial) League next week, going into the Lawrence invite at Eagle Bend and then towards the end of year at Stagg Hills in regionals.''
Hayden senior Addyson Baer shot an 80 to finish third in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden junior Izzy Glotzbach shot an 81 to finish fourth in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Addyson Baer posted a third-place with an 80 to lead the Wildcats while junior Izzy Glotzbach carded an 81 to place fourth and junior Lauren Borjon tied for sixth with an 84.
Seaman finished third in the team standings with a score of 389, led by junior Makenna Stuke, who tied Topeka West senior Alex Baxter for eighth place with an 88.
Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman finished 10th in the city tourney with an 89.
Actually, Washburn Rural and Peterson won a pair of titles on Monday, with the Junior Blues winning the championship in the Topeka West Invitational, which was held in conjunction with the city meet, and Peterson taking individual honors.
Emporia junior Elise Eckert was top non-city finisher in the West Invitational, placing fifth with an 82.
Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West will be right back in action on Tuesday, competing in the United Kansas Conference tournament at Lake Shawnee.
The Centennial League tournament will be held next Monday at Shawnee Country Club.
CITY TOURNAMENT
