By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Although Cooper Woestendick lives in Olathe, he has strong ties to Topeka.
Cooper Woestendick returns a shot in Sunday's singles final of the Jayhawk Open Tennis Tournament. The 15-year-old Woestendick won the title with a 6-3, 6-2 win. [Photo by Rick Peterson/
The 15-year-old tennis phenom returned to his family roots for the 82nd annual Jayhawk Open and put on a show, claiming the Men's Open Singles championship with a 6-2, 6-3 win over University of Nebraska player Rudra Dixit Sunday at the Kossover Tennis Center.
Woestendick is the grandson of the late Delvy Lewis, a Topeka basketball legend and former Kansas Jayhawk star, and the son of Kristi (Lewis) Woestendick, who played basketball at Washburn Rural and Washburn University.
Cooper Woestendick said he welcomed the chance to compete in the Jayhawk, one of the Midwest's longest-running and most respected tournaments.
"I always love playing in Topeka,'' Woestendick said. "We've got family here and it's always nice to come back where I was born. And it's a great tournament with great players."
Although he was a youngster in the Men's Open Singles field and playing in his first Jayhawk, Woestendick said he entered the weekend with high hopes.
"I basically always expect to win and then if my opponent plays too good they play too good,'' Woestendick. "But I expected to win this tournament.''
The nationally-ranked Woestendick, who will be a sophomore academically in 2022-2023, will continue to play as much as possible before continuing his training at the United States Tennis Association National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
"It's all about putting work in and putting good work in,'' Woestendick said. "You can't just play five hours a day and expect to get better. You have to actually do the right things, always do stuff the right way.''
Dixit, who will be a junior at Nebraska, said he ran out of gas in the singles final against Woestendick, but was also quick to give credit to his opponent.
"This is the most amount of sets I've played in two days in a very long time,'' Dixit said. "In college you don't play this much in three days. I've played 16 sets, which is a lot for me, and I took some time off after the season so I was very tired, but all credit to Cooper. He played great, he deserved to win.''
Dixit and partner Nikita Snezhko came back to win the Men's Open Doubles title, taking a 6-2, 6-2 win over Woestendick and Russell Lokko. Snezhko plays at North Dakota.
JAYHAWK OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Final round results
Men's Open Singles -- Cooper Woestendick def, Rudra Dixit, 6-2, 6-3.
Men's Open Doubles -- Nikita Snezhko/Rudra Dixit def. Cooper Woestendick/Russell Lokko, 6-2, 6-2.
Women's Open Singles -- Maria Titova def. Roxana Manu, 6-2, 6-2.
Men's 4.0 18 and Over Doubles -- Ali Fakhrai/Kenneth Blair def. Scott Ritter/Mathew Sankoorikal, 6-4, 6-2.
Men's 3.0 18 and Over Singles -- Juan Ramirez-Mares winner by default over Brad Murray.
Men's 3.5 18 and Over Singles -- Steven Gibbons def. Michael Gillam, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 10-5.
Men's 4.0 18 and Over Singles -- Scott Ritter def. Anant Puri, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-7.
Women's 4.0 18 and Over Singles -- Macy Mathew def. Jennifer Hansen, 5-7, 6-3, 10-3.
Mixed Open Doubles -- Mason Meier/Carolina Oliveira def. Dustin Wiens/Maura Wiens,
