Lady Eagles turn extended practice into runner-up finish at home invitational

Nearly three weeks of preparation paid off for the Colby High School girls tennis team Saturday as the Lady Eagles turned in a strong performance at their home invitational Sept. 5 at Fike Park in downtown Colby.

Colby scored 42 points to finish second in the six-team field, trailing champion Goodland, which finished with 48. Ulysses placed third with 34 points, Colby jv was fourth with 28, Phillipsburg finished fifth with 24 and Norton placed sixth with 16.

The tournament used an eight-team format with two byes.

Before competition began, Colby head coach Wendy Weishaar recognized the team’s five seniors: Shaylee Bell, Katelyn Diederich, Gala White, Heidi Gray and Bristol Niblock.

Diederich led Colby at No. 1 singles, going undefeated in Pool A. She defeated Ulysses’ Corley McCormick 6-3 and Norton’s Paisley Greeson 6-0 to earn first place in the pool. Diederich advanced to the championship crossover, where she fell 6-4 to Goodland’s Ella Linn and finished second overall.

Niblock also swept Pool A at No. 2 singles. She defeated Ulysses’ Jayleen Casas 6-3 and Norton’s Kieryn Aitken 6-0 before falling 6-1 to Goodland’s Reagan James in the championship crossover. Niblock finished second overall.

Bell and Zenni Mead captured Colby’s lone individual championship at No. 2 doubles. The pair went 2-1 in pool play, defeating Norton’s Khloe Sowter and Ella Woodyard 6-3. Bell and Mead then defeated Goodland’s Kollins Smades and Gwyneth Penrod 6-2 in the championship crossover to secure first place overall.

Gray and White went 2-1 in Pool A at No. 1 doubles, including a 6-1 victory over Norton’s Ainsley Nickols and Serenity Urban. The Colby pair faced Phillipsburg’s Emmalynn Brown and Alivia Hopson in the third-place crossover, falling 6-5 in a 7-5 tiebreaker to finish fourth overall.

Colby jv also delivered a solid day across all four divisions.

Atley Shaw went 2-1 in Pool B at No. 1 singles. She defeated Phillipsburg’s Miley Moffatt 6-2 before losing 6-3 to Goodland’s Linn. Shaw then narrowly lost 6-5 to McCormick in a 9-7 tiebreaker during the crossover round, placing fourth overall.

The No. 1 doubles team of Macy Schroeder and Breckyn Kinderknecht finished 2-1 in Pool B. They defeated Brown and Hopson 6-3 before falling 6-0 to Goodland’s Elly Evert and Brynlee Zimmerman. Schroeder and Kinderknecht closed the tournament with a 6-0 crossover victory over Norton’s Nickols and Urban to finish fifth overall.

Kylee Haug went 2-1 in Pool B at No. 2 singles, defeating Phillipsburg’s Caydence Ewing 6-4 and falling 6-3 to Goodland’s James. Haug lost 6-4 to Casas of Ulysses in the crossover and placed fourth overall.

Zoey Gines and Joselyn Bison also went 2-1 in Pool B at No. 2 doubles. The pair defeated Phillipsburg’s Hannah Umbarger and Paige Ehm 6-3 before losing 6-3 to Goodland’s Smades and Penrod. Gines and Bison responded with a 6-0 crossover win over Norton’s Sowter and Woodyard to earn third place overall.

Colby won 86 of its 128 games during the tournament for a 67.19 winning percentage. Colby jv went 78-48, winning 61.90 percent of its games.

Weishaar said her players exceeded her expectations after receiving considerably more preparation time than they normally have before their first tournament.

“I totally underestimated how fired up and ready to go they were going to be today,” Weishaar said. “I’m wondering if a lot of it is because we had almost three weeks of practice before we played a tournament. Usually, we get maybe eight or nine days of practice. I guess the postponements and delays worked in our favor.

“Plus, everyone really had some true grit today and played hard out there on the court.”

Weishaar said she is eager to see the entire program compete during a busy upcoming stretch.

“I’m excited to see what happens for the varsity girls Thursday in Phillipsburg and next Saturday in Goodland,” Weishaar said. “The JV also has four tournaments over this next week, and everyone will get to play, including our brand-new players. I’m very excited to see what they think of playing tournament tennis.”

The Lady Eagles are scheduled to return to competition Thursday, Sept. 10, at a rescheduled meet in Phillipsburg.