The first Kansas State High School Activities Association State Championship for the fall season begins on Friday. The best tennis players will come together to try and win the first state title of the year. The Topeka-area is well represented in this weekend’s final tennis tournament.
Here is a look at the Topeka-area storylines, plus the schedule and locations.
Hayden primed for big weekend at Kossover
The Class 4A State Championship will be hosted by Hayden at Kossover Tennis Center. The Wildcats qualified the maximum amount of players to the state tournament. In singles, Ainzley Zulueta and Grace Funk will compete.
Zulueta won the individual state title in her freshman and sophomore seasons before having to sit our her junior year. She has been flawless in her senior season as she has a perfect 20-0 record. Sterling’s Chelsie Brown, who will be competing in Class 3-1A, is the only other player in the state with an undefeated record.
Funk will try to improve on her past state experiences. The junior has an 8-3 record this year. She took 11th place last year and had a 10th place finish in her freshman campaign.
On the doubles side, the team of Emily Sheetz and Sophia Wichman have been dominant. The duo is 12-2 with Sheetz having tons of experience. The senior has won back-to-back doubles state titles. She played with Lauren Sandstrom during that run, but now she has helped Wichman enjoy a successful regular season. Wichman is only a freshman, but she has been solid on the court for the Wildcats.
Izzy Glotzbach and Avery O’Bray are the other doubles team that qualified for the state tournament. The juniors have an 11-7 record together this year.
Hayden tennis: Ainzley Zulueta ‘glad to be back’ after missing junior season
Washburn Rural’s roster ready to shine
Four players will compete in the Class 6A State Tournament from Washburn Rural. Carolina Alvarez Chedzoy took second in regionals play last weekend. She has a 17-10 singles record this season.
Chedzoy took eighth place in last year’s state tournament as she will try improve upon that record this weekend. Sophomore Julia Katzer will be playing singles, too. She earned a spot after taking fifth place in regionals. She has a 17-10 record.
The Junior Blues will have one of the most experienced doubles team at state. Emerie Catlin and Isabelle Haggard, who are both seniors, won regionals and have a 21-4 record. Other than Catlin and Haggard, there are only two other doubles pairs that have fewer losses with at least 20 wins in the Class 6A state competition.
Topeka High trio qualifies for state
After missing state last year, junior Madeline Deters has been on a mission to return. She took third place in regionals last week and she has an excellent record of 24-6. Only two players in the Class 6A field have more wins than Deters has this year.
She will be joined at state by the doubles team of junior Ava Ritter and freshman Hailey Caryl. They took fifth in regionals and they have a 22-8 record.
High school tennis: See which Topeka-area players qualified for the state tournament
Sidney Chinn ready to lead youthful Seaman roster
Seaman took first and second place in both singles and doubles divisions of their regional championship over the weekend. Sidney Chinn is the only senior amongst the group of six players. The youth of this team will be tested, but their quality of play on the court is seasoned.
Chinn will be playing with Peyton Henry, a junior, in doubles. They have a 23-5 record on the year. Camryn Lux and Kaylyn Hiebsch, who are both sophomores, will join them at state with their 22-8 record.
In singles, Seaman’s Emma Sweeney and Molly Gorman took first and second in regionals. Sweeney is a sophomore and has an excellent record this year standing at 27-3. Gorman is right behind her with a 25-4 record. Sweeney is one of four players in the Class 5A field that has won 27 matches or more entering the state tournament.
Poole to represent Cair Paravel
Cair Paravel’s only representative at state is Madilyn Poole. The sophomore took second place in last week’s regionals. She also holds a 19-6 record this year. She has improved dramatically since last year. She took seventh place in regionals as a freshman missing out on a trip to state.
Vote: Capital-Journal’s athlete of the week for Oct. 7-12
Locations for KSHSAA girls tennis state championship
Class 6A: Harmon Park Tennis Complex, Prairie Village
Class 5A: Andover District Tennis Complex, Andover
Class 4A: Kossover Tennis Center, Topeka
Class 3-1A: Riverside Tennis Complex, Wichita
Date and time for state tennis
Friday, Oct. 18: Matches begin at 10 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19: Matches begin at 9 a.m.
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Your guide to the KSHSAA girls tennis state championship
