Class 5A
Few teams can claim state championships, but it’s become part of the culture for the Andover girls’ tennis team. The Trojans recently captured their fourth consecutive state title, solidifying their legacy as a powerhouse program.
“I think all year we had the expectations that we would defend our team title,” head coach Stephen Alexander said. “ I was hopeful we could also earn an individual state title, but to win the Team title, singles title, and doubles title all in the same year just shows how hard these girls work.”
Senior Molly Gaddis capped off her career with another singles medal, taking first place after a hard-fought three-set battle against Blue Valley Southwest’s Jensen Gibb.
On top of a first-place finish in singles, Andover also enjoyed the rare accomplishment of an all-Trojan finale in doubles, where seniors Elizabeth Gaddis and Nadia Kaewsai defeated teammates Emma Jittawait and Ada Tantemsomboon in a thrilling three-set match to claim the doubles championship.
“Last year, we were disappointed that our singles players had to face off in the quarterfinals and our doubles team had to face in the semifinals,” Alexander said. “So this year, we made it a goal to make sure we showed up at every tournament to ensure top seeds at the state so that wouldn’t happen again. Having the one and two seed in both singles and doubles for the state tournament was important.”
Class 3-2-1A
Wichita Collegiate capped off yet another girl’sstate championship, making it an astonishing 16 championships in a row.
“I did not expect to win the team title coming into the season,” head coach Simon Norman said. “I knew Laney (Conrad) and Julia (Herrman) had a good opportunity to win their third title, but there were other schools that qualified for four spots at state and were going to get team point contributions from all four spots. Our team came together in the last couple of weeks of the season to win league, regionals, and state to cap an unlikely but memorable state title run.”
The Spartans were able to edge out Ellsworth 38-33 thanks in big part to their three-time state champ, the doubles team of Conrad and Herrman, who finished the season 38-2.
“It was great to see Laney and Julia win their 3rd consecutive state doubles title,” Norman said. “This contributed heavily to Collegiate’s point total enabling the team to win the 16th straight team title for Collegiate girl’s tennis.”
