LYONS, Kan. — Sterling High School highlighted a strong showing by area teams at the Class 3-1A girls regional tennis tournament Friday in Lyons, capturing the doubles championship and earning a runner-up finish in singles.
Sterling's Danika Zimmerman and Emma Lewis won the doubles title, while Emma Kelso and Kate McGlynn finished second, giving the Black Bears the top two finishes in doubles.
Zimmerman and Lewis defeated Larned's Emma McNett and Olivia Holt 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals before beating teammates Kelso and McGlynn 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match.
Kelso and McGlynn reached the finals with a three-set victory over Larned's Jozlyn Mead and Danielle Hemken, winning 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-1.
In singles, Sterling's Lauren Rowland finished second after falling to Larned's Lauren Sleder 6-0, 6-1 in the championship match. Rowland advanced to the finals with a 6-0, 6-2 semifinal victory over Larned's Darby Sundahl.
Sterling's Natalie Williams also competed in singles, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Sundahl in three sets. Williams later fell to Hillsboro's Brooklyn Thiessen in the fifth-place consolation bracket.
Nickerson was represented in both singles and doubles. Paige Loitz competed in singles, falling to Rowland in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
In doubles, Nickerson's Fianne Hurlburt and Kenna Huggard reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champions Zimmerman and Lewis. The Panthers' Amelia Kinast and Kierstyn Pontius also competed, winning their opening match against Cimarron before falling to Sterling's top doubles team.
Lyons had competitors in both divisions. Isabel Gonzalez earned an opening-round singles victory over Hutchinson Trinity Catholic's Maycee Wasinger-Burnette before falling to Sleder in the second round. Keira Webb also competed in singles, falling to Thiessen.
In doubles, Lyons' Madeline Tobisch and Jazmin Contreras earned an opening-round victory over Trinity Catholic's Kiera Emke and Marah Bargdill before falling to Sterling's Kelso and McGlynn.
Trinity Catholic also had Evelyn Salazar competing in singles, along with the doubles team of Gracie Goering and Piper Deal. Salazar fell to Williams, while Goering and Deal lost to Larned's Mead and Hemken.
The top six singles players and doubles teams qualified for the Class 3-1A state tournament, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka.