Raegan Feyh, Autymn Schreiner and Kendyl Bolinder pose after the medal presentation at state tennis.
Wabaunsee finishes 12th as a team
Senior Autymn Schreiner ended her tennis career at state with an eighth place finish.
Wabaunsee finished 12th as a team with 8 points. Kansas City Christian School earned the championship with 40.
Schreiner opened against Molly Bender from Conway Springs. Schreiner played aggressive and had no problem earning the win, 6-2, 6-3.
Schreiner moved on to the second round where she played 29-0 Emily Ryan from Central Plains. It was a hard match up for her, and she wasn’t able to hit winning shots against Ryan. Schreiner lost 0-6 in both sets, moving her into the backside of the bracket.
“We knew that she would still have a chance at a high finish after this match, so she was able to stay focused afterwards,” head coach Brendan Praeger said.
She rebounded against Lauren Crotinger of Greely County with a 9-2 victory
Shreiner’s final match Friday was against Trego Community High School’s Caroline Brungardt to determine who would make it to the second day of the state tournament. It became an easy win, 9-1, and guaranteed her a medal at the end of the second day.
The second day for Schreiner started with a tough, competitive match against Lena Rauchholz from Smokey Valley. She started out down 3-7, but Schreiner soon found a way to take control over the opponent, Praeger said. She forced Rauchholz into a tiebreaker, after surviving several match points. Schreiner continued to play aggressively, won the tiebreaker and guaranteed herself a finishing place between fifth and eighth.
Schreiner wasn’t able to keep the momentum going into her final two matches. She competed against Victoria’s Brooklynn Kuhn and Whichita Independent’s Sense Cadman, but lost both matches 3-9.
Schreiner ended her three years of tennis with an eighth place finish at state and a record of 29-8.
“My goal was to finish in the top 10 and less than 10 losses at state, so I would say it all ended on a good note,” Schreiner said.
Coach Praeger said he was very impressed by how Auty has done these last three years, but more importantly at state.
“I knew she had the potential to be one of the best players in the state this year, so it was exciting to see her play up to her potential,” Praeger said.
Juniors Kendyl Bolinder and Raegan Feyh didn’t have as great of a run as Schreiner did in the state tournament. In the first round they competed against Scott Community’s Gutierrez-Myers and Hermosillo, but took a tough loss, 2-6, 4-6.
“Kendyl and Raegan were a little tight at the beginning. They eventually began to move well and land some shots, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the match against a team that ended up finishing 9th,” Praeger said.
The pair still had a chance to end in a decent place on the backside of the bracket if they could advance. Bolinder and Feyh competed against Cynthia Gonzales and Lanae Haupt, the other doubles team from Scott Community. The match was much more competitive, but they still couldn’t pull out the win and ending their season, 6-9.
“I think it will get them focused to come back next year and make more of an impact,” Praeger said.
— Kaytlyn Meseke, @kaytlyn_nelle
The Charger 
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