Charger tennis opened the season Thursday with a third place finish behind Topeka and Wamego at the Wamego invite.
“We start very early in the season, so it’s exciting to gauge our progress right away,” head coach Brendan Praeger said.
At #1 singles, junior Baylie Tharman opened with a 6-2 win over Sabetha’s Gracie Glaspie.
Unfortunately, she dropped her final three matches.
“Baylie played a lot better than her record shows,” Praeger said. “She beat a solid Sabetha player to start the day, and then had three very competitive matches against girls who will compete for spots at state in the higher classes. I think she has a lot to build on.”
At #2 singles, sophomore Ava Huske tied for first with a 3-1 finish. “Ava had a really great day, and the fact that she powered through some overheating was pretty impressive,” Praeger said. She had a slow start in a couple of matches and had to fight back, but both times she was down she was able to force a tiebreaker. Her final match ended when the other player got too hot to continue, so the fact that she continued to battle really paid off.”
“I need to be more aggressive. A lot of my points went on forever and I missed some opportunities,” Huske said.
Senior Danielle Murphy and sophomore Meredith Denton went 1-3 at #1 doubles. “We didn’t do too bad for it being our first time playing together. Meredith and I did have a lot of fun, but there is always room for improvement,” Murphy said.
Junior Ava Meinhardt and sophomore Emily Meyer also went 1-3, defeating a duo from Northeast Kansas.
“Our doubles teams both struggled a little bit, but they were playing very experienced Wamego and Topeka teams. It’s the first time our duos were playing together, and Ava Meinhardt was playing in her first meet ever, and Emily in her first varsity meet. I think they will improve quickly as they gain experience,” Praeger said.
The team travels to Clay Center Thursday and will play in the Seaman invitational Saturday at Kossover in Topeka.
The Charger 
Leave a Reply