MAIZE, Kan. – After placing 8th in their toughest tournament of the season on Saturday at the Collegiate Tournament of Champions, the McPherson girls tennis team responded Monday, rolling to a 1st place finish in the Maize Invitational.
The highlight of the day saw the #1 Doubles team of Avery Unruh and Quinn Liebl take first place with a 3-0 record. In the process, Unruh picked up her 100th career win for Bullpup tennis. Coach Tyler Brown said: “From seven weeks of summer group lessons, to working with her private instructors along the way, to every high school practice, Avery learned how to work at a young age.” He added: “Today she was rewarded by earning career win No. 100 in her first match against Maize.”
Not only did McPherson take first place, but they also finished with the max number of 24 points, as every division went 3-0 on the day. In #1 Singles, Mayson Wiens was 3-0 and took first and McKenna Paul did the same in #2 Singles. The #2 Doubles team of Gwen Prieb and Piper VanCampen went 3-0 in first place as well. Playing unattached, Audra Sandbo and Sadie Krug finished in second place in #1 Doubles, losing only to their teammates Unruh and Liebl, going 2-1 for the day.
“What may have impressed me the most as a team was how the girls responded physically,” said Brown. “Many of them competed in a long Tournament of Champions on Saturday and had just over 24 hours to recover before getting back on the court.”
The grind does not stop for the McPherson girls tennis squad. After Monday’s makeup tournament at Maize, they are back on the court today at Goddard for their final regular season varsity meet.
