BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
GARDEN CITY — Larned singles player Lauren Sleder stayed unbeaten while winning Saturday's Garden City tennis invitational. Great Bend (123) edged Larned (118) for the team title featuring 3A through 6A teams.
Sleder won four matches and defeated Liberal's Evelin Tarango 8-2 for the championship. In other singles final matches, Garden City's Chloe Ptacek defeated Great Bend's Mac Lindberg, 8-3 for third place; Garden City's Vivian Whitham placed fifth 8-3 over Great Bend's Paige Stacey, 8-3; and Larned's Leah Pinkston finished ninth with an 8-4 victory over Garden City's Reagan Jones, 8-4.
Great Bend's Brooklyn Reynolds/Baze Hogan defeated teammates Beth Hammeke/Maddie Seifkes, 8-0 for third place. Larned's Cassie Manry/Maggie Haas finished fifth with an 8-0 victory over teammates Keirstin Pinkston/Olivia Holt, 8-0.
Great Bend's team title continues a strong fall season under coach Zachary Bartel. The Panthers have won two Great Bend tournaments, Dodge City and Garden City heading to the Western Athletic Conference tournament Oct. 6 at Liberal. The Panthers have beaten Garden City players in singles and No. 2 doubles.
"It's a good feeling to finish ahead of Garden City," Bartel said. "We're definitely in the hunt for the WAC title Monday. The girls are excited with how they've performed. I've been pleased with our progress."
Lindberg and 5A state qualifier Paige Stacey have gone back-and-forth with who finishes higher.
"Our singles players have performed well all year," Bartel said. "Paige and Mac push each other every day in practice to get better. Mac likes to play longer points and try to wear her opponent out. She's got a lot of fight. When Paige's serve is on, she's an outstanding player."
The doubles teams have learned to work together to find their rhythm.
"Doubles is a lot of working together and knowing your teammate," Bartel said. "The girls have made a lot of progress since the start of the season."
GARDEN CITY INVITATIONAL
TEAM TOTALS—1—Great Bend 123; 2—Larned 118; 3—Garden City Brown 108; 4—Liberal 101; 5—Goodland 84; 6—Dodge City 83; 7—Scott City 80; 8—Colby 59; 9—Hays High 34; 10—Ulysses 32; 11—Garden City White 29
SINGLES—1ST—Lauren Sleder, Larned def. Evelin Tarango, Lib, 8-2; 3RD—Chloe Ptacek, GC def. Mac Lindberg, GB, 8-3; 5TH—Vivian Whitham, GC def. Paige Stacey, GB, 8-3; 9TH—Leah Pinkston, Larned def. Reagan Jones, GC, 8-4; Sleder def. Lindberg, GB, 8-2; Sleder def. Ella Linn, Goodland, 8-3; Sleder def. Marissa Alvarado, Colby, 8-0; Lindberg def. Whitham, GC, 8-2; Lindberg def. Kate Diederich, Colby, 8-0; Stacey def. Katie Rouse, DC, 8-5; Ptacek, GC def. Stacey, 8-6; Stacey def. Pinkston, Larned, 8-4; Pinkston def. Corley McCormick, Uly, 8-5; Pinkston def. Aly Aldrete, DC, 8-1; Pinkston def. Shelly Massaglia, SC, 8-1
DOUBLES—3RD—Brooklyn Reynolds/Baze Hogan, GB def. Beth Hammeke/Maddie Seifkes, GB, 8-0; 5TH—Cassie Manry/Maggie Haas, Larned def. Keirstin Pinkston/Olivia Holt, Larned, 8-0; Lynette Alonzo/Giselle Mesta, Lib def. Reynolds/Hogan, 8-6; Reynolds/Hogan def. Mya Ploutz/Savannah Clingan, Hays 8-4; Reynolds/Hogan def. Madi Navarro/Yvonna Rivera, Lib, 8-7 (7-3); Kaylee Faulkner/Finley Edwards, SC def. Hammeke/Siefkes, 8-3; Hammeke/Siefkes def. Macey Kennedy/London Ojeda, GC, 8-3; Hammeke/Siefkes def. Marisol Banuelos/Yaremy Macias, DC, 8-3; Hammeke/Siefkes def. Julia Flores/Raquel Delgado, Uly, 8-5; Manry/Haas def. Kennedy/Ojeda, GC, 8-0; Felker/Edwards, SC def. Manry/Haas, 8-6; Manry/Haas def. Renly Just/Reese Kennedy, GC, 8-2; Pinkston/Holt def. Ploutz/Clingan, Hays, 8-6; Alonzo/Mesta, Lib def. Pinkston/Holt, 8-5; Pinkston/Holt def. EMma Bell/Addi Taylor, DC, 8-5; Pinkston/Holt def. Gisselle Rodriguez/Deina Silva, DC, default
