Check out how area boys tennis teams fared during the first two weeks of the season.
Greater Wichita Athletic League
Bishop Carroll took two out of three doubles matches to edge Wichita Northwest 5-4 in a season-opening dual. Wichita East topped Wichita Heights by the same score. The Aces pulled out the win thanks to victories in four singles matches, including No. 1 and 2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel didn’t have as hard of time to start the year as it shut out Wichita North and beat Wichita South 8-1. Wichita West won all but one singles match en route to a 7-2 victory over Wichita Southeast.
After spring break, Bishop Carroll picked up three more wins to improve to 4-0 in league duals. The Golden Eagles defeated East 8-1, Heights 9-0 and Kapaun 6-3. Bishop Carroll took four singles matches and two doubles matches against Kapaun. West moved to 2-0 with a 6-3 victory over Heights before falling hard to Northwest 8-1. The Grizzlies defeated East 6-3 as well to bounce back nicely from the season opener. North also regrouped well as the Redskins easily topped Southeast and then edged Heights 5-4. Both North and Heights won three singles matches, but the Redskins earned two doubles victories. Southeast picked up its first dual win on the last day of March, beating South 6-3.
Buhler Invitational
Great Bend earned first place in three categories en route to a team title. Grant Harris won four matches at No. 2 singles to give the Panthers one champion. Then Nick Moyers and Chase Buntain took the crown at No. 1 doubles, as well as Adam Neeland and Ramon Garcia at No. 2 doubles. Great Bend added a second-place finish at No. 1 singles to total 37 points. Buhler’s maroon team came in second with 33 points after placing second in three categories and first at No. 1 singles with Nick Wilson. Maize South was third in the standings with 15 points, followed by Buhler’s white team (11) and Hutchinson (4).
Chaparral Invitational
Wellington edged Meade by two points for the tournament championship behind wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles. The Crusaders also placed third twice to earn 18 points. Meade took first in No. 2 singles, second in No. 1 doubles and then got two thirds to finish with 16 points. The host team ended the day with 14 points for third place, and Kingman and Fairfield tied for fourth with eight.
Emporia Tournament
Andover Central came up one point short of Topeka Hayden for the team title despite performing well in doubles. Andrew Leigh and Colin Williams won at No. 1 doubles for the Jaguars, and then Jackson Mace and Jacob Thompson took first at No. 2 to help the team reach 19 points. Lawrence got third in the standings with 15 points.
Hesston Invitational
Goddard edged out Hutchinson Trinity 28-27 to take home the team title. The Lions got a big lift from their singles players as Timio Lopez claimed the top spot at No. 2 and Ryan Wolfe got second at No. 1. Goddard added a pair of fourth-place finishes in doubles. Hutchinson Trinity fared well in the doubles competition, taking second in both categories. Hesston and Parsons tied for third with 25 points, followed by Wichita Independent (16), Smoky Valley (14), Concordia (7) and Wichita Trinity (6).
Mustang Doubles Classic
Salina Central won all 20 of its doubles matches to win its own tournament. The Mustangs were a part of three sets that finished 8-4, but that’s as close as any opponent came to beating them. Topeka was victorious in 14 matches to earn that many points and get second as a team. Maize South and Topeka West both finished with nine points for third place, and Hutchinson and Manhattan ended with four points.
Valley Center Invitational
The host Hornets placed first in three of four categories to win the tournament by eight points over Wichita Collegiate. Valley Center also got third at No. 1 singles, pushing its point total to 21. Collegiate earned second in both No. 2 singles and doubles on its way to 13 points, two ahead of Wichita South and Wichita Southeast. Chaparral finished fifth with eight points.
Wellington Invitational
The host Crusaders won another team title, this time by taking first in all four categories. Wellington added a third-place finish in No. 2 singles to total 40 points. Goddard Eisenhower was the team runner-up with 31 points thanks to three seconds and a third in No. 1 doubles. Augusta (13 points), El Dorado (11) and Kingman (3) rounded out the field.
Wichita Collegiate Invitational
The host Spartans needed all 28 points they earned to get past Sterling and claim the team title. Wichita Collegiate and Sterling faced off in the finals of three categories with the Black Bears winning at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles. The Spartans got the edge though when they defeated a Maize South duo at No. 1 doubles. Maize South ended up third as a team with 16 points, and Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Maize tied for fourth with 14. Wichita Trinity rounded out the top five with 13 points.
out the top five with 13 points.
