By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The ultimate goal is always to finish first, but Seaman girls tennis still had plenty to celebrate in Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center.
Andover ruled the day, sweeping the singles, doubles and team championships, but Seaman junior Emma Sweeney posted a runnerup singles finish to lead the way as the tournament-host Vikings finished second as a team, just six points behind the champion Trojans (39-33).
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney earned her third straight Class 5A singles medal Saturday with a career-best runnerup finish as the Vikings finished second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"A great weekend,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "Of course that's why we wanted to host is we wanted to give an advantage to a team that we thought was going to be one of the best teams in the state, and we were. We proved it.''
And it was a day of breakthroughs for the Vikings, with Sweeney advancing to the title match after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while senior Molly Gorman finished sixth in singles after a 10th-place finish as a junior and the Viking doubles team of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished seventh to cap their first season as a doubles team.
Sweeney, who captured her third straight 5A state medal, finished her season 30-2, with both losses coming against Andover senior Mia Jaramillo, who took a 6-4, 6-3 decision in Saturday's championship match.
Jaramillo, who beat Sweeney in the third-place match in 2024, jumped out to 3-0 and 5-2 leads in the first set before Sweeney rallied to within 5-4 and Jaramillo went up 5-1 in the second set before Sweeney cut her deficit to 5-3.
"We did the same thing in Olathe, so I was kind of expecting it, but I feel like I pushed through,'' Jaramillo said. "She's a great player, so she did good.
"I felt I had a lot of pressure, but we have a great team, so we all pushed through.''
While obviously upset with her near miss, Sweeney knows that someday soon she'll be proud of her accomplishment.
"I'll be pleased after a little bit,'' Sweeney said. "The goal after last year, and I was surprised I made it (to the semifinals), I made it my new goal to try and win, but it's okay and I'll come back next year even harder.
"This gives me more experience and it gives me the experience of playing in front of a big crowd in a big situation, so I think I'm just going to take what I learned today and it will help me grow and make me work even harder in the offseason.''
"Runnerup is so impressive,'' Robinson said of Sweeney's performance. "She's lost to one person this year and that was Mia, so credit to her. She came to play.
''Emma had a couple of runs, but it just wasn't quite enough, so hey, let's learn from it and grow from it.''
Seaman senior Molly Gorman captured her fourth Class 5A state medal Saturday, finishing sixth in singles at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Gorman, who dropped an 8-1 decision to Eisenhower sophomore Quinn Scheideman in the fifth-place match, capped her prep career with her fourth state medal in as many tries -- two singles, two doubles.
Henry and Lux finished off state with a win, taking an 8-6 win over Bishop Carroll senior Macy Wetta and freshman Leah Jackson in the seventh-place match.
Wildcats earn third-place 4A team trophy
Hayden singles players Lana Hull and Grace Funk and the doubles team of Sophia Wichman and Avery O'Bray all earned Class 4A state medals on Saturday at Harmon Park in Prairie Village, leading the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.
Hull, a freshman, finished seventh in singles with an 8-2 win over Marysville senior Katherine Frese while Funk, a senior, topped Winfield junior Zlata Mitina 8-5 in the ninth-place match.
Sophomore Wichman and senior O'Bray posted a 10th-place finish in doubles, dropping an 8-5 decision to Fort Scott seniors Abbie Gorman and Bryleigh Hymer.
Funk, Wichman and O'Bray all earned state medals for the second straight season as Hayden finished with 19 points to finish behind Wichita Collegiate and McPherson.
Cair Paravel junior Madilyn Poole posted a third-place singles finish Saturday in the Class 3A-1A state tournament at Salina. [File photo/TSN]
Lions' Poole posts third-place 3A-1A singles finish
Cair Paravel Latin junior singles standout Madilyn Poole bounced back from a semifinal loss to finish third in Class 3A-1A Saturday at the Salina Tennis Center.
Poole, the No. 3 seed, dropped a 6-3, 6-0 semifinal decision to the eventual state runnerup, junior No. 2 seed Karli Haase of Ellsworth, before taking a 6-4, 6-1 win over senior Ani Doom of Wichita Classical in the third-place match.
With that win Poole finished her season with a 19-3 record as Cair Paravel finished seventh as a team with Poole's 12 points.
High's Deters places sixth in 6A singles
Topeka High senior singles player Madeline Deters earned her second straight Class 6A state singles medal Saturday at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe, finishing sixth.
Deters, a Centennial League and regional champion, dropped an 8-0 decision to Blue Valley North freshman Penelope Reed in the fifth-place finish to finish her season with a 32-6 record.
Deters posted a 3-2 record on the weekend, helping Topeka High finishing 10th as a team.
