Independent tennis takes third at state

The Panther tennis team headed out to Dodge City on Saturday to compete in the Class 3-2-1A girls tennis state competition. The team had just won the regional tournament at Riverside the past week and was on a good foot when entering their first rounds on Friday.

“Our goal probably was to get a top three finish,” said head coach Simon Norman. “We were one point out of second and 2.5 points out of winning state.”

“The whole thing was pretty close,” added Norman.

The competition proved to be the deepest the team had faced all year with teams like Ellinwood and Conway Springs present. The Panthers were one of the three teams that brought all six players possible to state. The other two that also brought six members were Ellinwood and Conway Springs, who took first and second in the tournament.

Independent rounded out the top three at third.

Senior Jillian Poynter and sophomore Cara Anderson finished fourth in doubles.

“Jillian finished third last year [and had] four years in a row [now] where she was in the top [few places],” Norman said.

Senior Leah Davis and sophomore Codey Davis won their first match, then lost the next three and Sophomore Lakhshmi Nagireddy also did not place, but all three scored points for the team.

Senior Colleen Zirkle was the highest placing member of the team coming in third place in singles.

“[It was a] great result for her and the team,” said Norman, “a great way to finish her high school career…[it was a] very good effort by her.”

Norman said that the season went well, with the team finishing second at league, coming back to win over Conway Springs at regionals and coming in third at state.

“It was a heck of a year for the girls,” Norman said.