By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls tennis team had put itself in position to win the city championship the previous two seasons, only to fall just short.
Seaman's girls tennis team poses for a picture after winning the city championship Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Jamie Robinson's Vikings had to sweat another down-to-the-wire finish again on Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, but this time Seaman got the job done, earning its first city title since 2015 by a 32-28 margin over Washburn Rural.
"We're happy,'' Robinson said. "This is what our goal was at the beginning of the year, to win city. It kind of got to the point where we didn't want to talk about it. We didn't want to jinx ourselves because we were so pumped up to win city this year.
"We'd been snakebit in the past and were so close, so it meant a lot to the girls. Look at them, they're excited.''
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney won the city No. 1 singles title Thursday, posting three 8-0 wins on the day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Molly Gorman won the city No. 2 singles title Thursday for the city champion Vikings. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Viking junior Emma Sweeney rolled to the No. 1 singles title without dropping a game in her three matches on the day, including an 8-0 win over Topeka High's Madeline Deters in the finals, while senior Molly Gorman won her second straght No. 2 singles championship, outlasting Hayden freshman Lena Hull in the title match, 8-7 (7-2 in a tiebreaker).
Seaman also got runnerup doubles finishes from Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux in No. 1 doubles and from Kaylyn Hiebsch and Candace Speer in the No. 2 bracket.
Sweeney agreed with her coach that the city title meant a lot to the Vikings.
"We talk about it every year,'' Sweeney said. "We're always so close and our coach really wanted it because he'd never won city since he's been coaching. We always talk about it and we were ready.
"It means so much and we're all so excited.''
Washburn Rural put itself in the city title picture with a sweep of the doubles championships.
Washburn Rural's Julia Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to win the city No. 1 doubles title Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural's Halle Owen (left) teamed with Julia Katzer to win the No. 1 doubles city title Thursday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Julia Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to take an 8-3 win over Seaman's Henry and Lux in the No. 1 final while Alizah Chedzoy and Annie Henderson took an 8-3 win over Seaman's Hiebsch and Speer in the No. 2 title match.
Hayden, the 2024 city champion, finished third as a team with 23 points, one point ahead of fourth-place Topeka High, as the Wildcats posted top-four finishes in all four divisions.
CITY GIRLS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
At Kossover Tennis Center
Team scores
Seaman 32, Washburn Rural 28, Hayden 23, Topeka High 22, Cair Paravel Latin 16, Topeka West 15, Highland Park 6, Shawnee Heights 5.
Individual results
Singles
No. 1 -- Championship: Emma Sweeney, Seaman, def. Madeline Deters, Topeka High, 8-0. Third: Madilyn Poole, Cair Paravel, def. Grace Funk, Hayden, 8-7 (13-11).
No. 2 -- Championship: Molly Gorman, Seaman, def. Lena Hull, Hayden, 8-7 (7-2). Third: Bridget Hoopes, Washburn Rural, def. Kate Raymond, Topeka High, 8-2.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Championship: Julia Katzer/Halle Owen, Washburn Rural, def. Peyton Henry/Camryn Lux, Seaman, 8-3. Third: Hailey Caryl/Ava Ritter, Topeka High, def. Avery O'Bray/Kinsy Bullock, Hayden, 8-1.
No. 2 -- Championship: Alizah Chedzoy/Annie Henderson, Washburn Rural, def. Kaylyn Hiebsch/Candace Speer, Seaman, 8-3. Third: Kaelyn Gerdel/Elliott Gould, Hayden, def. Jordan Felsburg/Taryn Gilbert, Topeka West, 8-5.
