WICHITA, Kan. — Buhler High School qualified two singles players and two doubles teams for the Class 4A state girls tennis tournament following Friday's regional competition hosted by Wichita Collegiate.
The Crusaders were led by sophomore Sofia Spies, who finished runner-up in singles, while senior Addy Tech placed fifth. In doubles, Emily Allen and Gabriella Gillespie finished third, while Brailey McIntire and Sydney Fluck placed eighth.
The top six finishers in both singles and doubles qualified for state, giving Buhler three qualifying entries.
Spies, the No. 2 seed, opened with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Scott City's Adriana Salinas before defeating Ulysses' Corley McCormick 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. She advanced to the championship with a 6-1, 7-5 semifinal win over Wichita Collegiate's Victoria Younger.
In the title match, Spies fell to top-seeded Hitha Ganganala of Wichita Collegiate, 6-4, 6-0.
Tech opened with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Circle's Elizabeth Collins before falling to Hesston's Laine Widener 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Tech rebounded in the consolation bracket, defeating Scott City's Keri Crisler 6-2, 6-2 to earn a spot in the fifth-place match, where she defeated McCormick 6-2, 6-2.
In doubles, Allen and Gillespie earned a third-place finish after defeating Hesston's Aubrey Koehn and Sage Bartel 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the third-place match.
The Buhler duo opened with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Pratt's Eve Fields and Addison Lovell before defeating Hesston's Zoe Dryden and Candice Tolle 6-2, 6-1. They fell to eventual regional champions Giana Shuart and Tanya Ramesh of Wichita Collegiate 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals.
McIntire and Fluck opened with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Circle's Kiera Loewen and Saylor Mattke before falling to the top-seeded Collegiate duo. They later lost to Scott City's Ava Smith and Adalei Zeller 6-1, 6-2 in consolation play.
Hesston qualifies two entries for state
Hesston also had a strong regional showing, qualifying one singles player and one doubles team.
Widener finished fourth in singles after reaching the semifinals with victories over Circle's Kallie Rutliff and Buhler's Tech. Widener fell to eventual champion Ganganala 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals before losing to Collegiate's Younger 6-0, 6-4 in the third-place match.
In doubles, Dryden and Tolle placed fifth to secure a state berth. After falling to Buhler's Allen and Gillespie in the quarterfinals, the Hesston duo defeated Scott City's Shelby Massaglia and Hayla Edwards 6-4, 6-4 before beating Smith and Zeller 6-1, 6-0 in the fifth-place match.
Hesston's Koehn and Bartel also qualified for state with a fourth-place finish. They advanced to the semifinals before falling to Collegiate's Juliet Farha and Hadley Porter 6-1, 6-0 and then to Buhler's Allen and Gillespie in the third-place match.
Pratt eliminated in opening round
Pratt High School was unable to advance any entries to the state tournament.
In singles, Ellinor Allen fell to top-seeded Ganganala 6-0, 6-0, while Gabriella Cervantes lost to Collegiate's Younger by the same score.
In doubles, Fields and Lovell fell to Buhler's Allen and Gillespie 6-0, 6-0, while Kimberly Haddon and Aliyah Tilley lost to Hesston's Koehn and Bartel 6-0, 6-0.
Wichita Collegiate swept the regional championships, with Ganganala taking the singles title and Shuart and Ramesh winning doubles.
The Class 4A state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17, at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka.