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Independence, MO —
Three consecutive losses to open the season didn’t rattle Blue Springs South girls tennis coach Craig Dierking.
That’s because two of those defeats came to Branson and St. Teresa’s Academy and both of those squads finished last year in the state quarterfinals. Dierking said he saw enough in those setbacks to convince him that things were heading in the right direction.
That said, Thursday’s 9-0 win over Truman at Santa Fe Trail Park was at least a little reassuring for the Jaguars.
“Each match we play, I just feel better and better,” said South senior Liia Butler, who earned a 6-2 win over Courtney Martin at No. 3 singles and teamed with Isabella Bowling for a 6-0 victory over Kelsy Ritchel and Martin in No. 1 doubles. “I think we all felt better after we played. But it’s good to start out with somebody tough so we know what we need to work on.”
That was the point of starting with a difficult slate early, Dierking said. He didn’t see the need to fret too much about the team’s confidence considering he lost only one player from last year’s varsity group.
“We had a rough start, but it’s not that we’ve played poorly,” Dierking said. “We’re playing state qualifying teams. When you play that quality of competition early, it lets us see where we are. And we’re close.”
That showed Thursday, as the Jags rolled an experienced Truman squad and won 54 of 60 games.
“I’m so proud of every girl today,” said South senior Madison McCulloch, who downed Ritchel 6-0 at No. 1 singles and joined Remy Davenport for a 6-0 triumph over Kelsey Hanaway and Shelby Calfas in No. 2 doubles. “We came out here not really knowing what to expect since we hadn’t played Truman in at least three or four years. But we came out confident and I’m really proud of how everybody played.”
Davenport also picked up a 6-0 No. 2 singles win over Hanaway while Leah Bell and Erica McClain swept Caitlin Crawford and Fuller at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Bell and McClain also bested Crawford and Fuller 6-0 in No. 3 doubles.
The Patriots have also faced a brutal stretch to begin the season with four consecutive matches against Suburban Big Six Conference schools. They opened with an encouraging 5-4 loss to Blue Springs before falling to the Jags. Their next two contests are against Lee’s Summit and Raymore-Peculiar before heading to the Winnetonka Tournament.
Three consecutive losses to open the season didn’t rattle Blue Springs South girls tennis coach Craig Dierking.
That’s because two of those defeats came to Branson and St. Teresa’s Academy and both of those squads finished last year in the state quarterfinals. Dierking said he saw enough in those setbacks to convince him that things were heading in the right direction.
That said, Thursday’s 9-0 win over Truman at Santa Fe Trail Park was at least a little reassuring for the Jaguars.
“Each match we play, I just feel better and better,” said South senior Liia Butler, who earned a 6-2 win over Courtney Martin at No. 3 singles and teamed with Isabella Bowling for a 6-0 victory over Kelsy Ritchel and Martin in No. 1 doubles. “I think we all felt better after we played. But it’s good to start out with somebody tough so we know what we need to work on.”
That was the point of starting with a difficult slate early, Dierking said. He didn’t see the need to fret too much about the team’s confidence considering he lost only one player from last year’s varsity group.
“We had a rough start, but it’s not that we’ve played poorly,” Dierking said. “We’re playing state qualifying teams. When you play that quality of competition early, it lets us see where we are. And we’re close.”
That showed Thursday, as the Jags rolled an experienced Truman squad and won 54 of 60 games.
“I’m so proud of every girl today,” said South senior Madison McCulloch, who downed Ritchel 6-0 at No. 1 singles and joined Remy Davenport for a 6-0 triumph over Kelsey Hanaway and Shelby Calfas in No. 2 doubles. “We came out here not really knowing what to expect since we hadn’t played Truman in at least three or four years. But we came out confident and I’m really proud of how everybody played.”
Davenport also picked up a 6-0 No. 2 singles win over Hanaway while Leah Bell and Erica McClain swept Caitlin Crawford and Fuller at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Bell and McClain also bested Crawford and Fuller 6-0 in No. 3 doubles.
The Patriots have also faced a brutal stretch to begin the season with four consecutive matches against Suburban Big Six Conference schools. They opened with an encouraging 5-4 loss to Blue Springs before falling to the Jags. Their next two contests are against Lee’s Summit and Raymore-Peculiar before heading to the Winnetonka Tournament.
“Even though we lost that first match, losing 4-5 to somebody as good as Blue Springs, I thought a lot of the kids were encouraged by the fact that we could play with teams this year that we haven’t been able to play with in the past,” Blinzler said. “Now, we’re definitely going to have to talk and be like, ‘Hey, you’re going to play tough teams. It’s how you bounce back from it. Don’t let it bring you down.’”
WINNETONKA 6, WILLIAM CHRISMAN 3: Jacquiline Temperli and Jessica Mullen earned singles victories and Jessica Hertzog and Mullen teamed up for a doubles win, but it wasn’t enough for the Bears.
“We struggled today with the heat and injuries that we have acquired over the last couple of days,” Chrisman coach Sandy Tucker said. “This was our fourth meet this week. I am proud of the girls for still giving it 100 percent and pushing through despite the harsh conditions.”
