Coming off a second-place finish during the Western Athletic Conference tournament on Monday, the Great Bend High School  Lady Panthers are hoping their success will translate into some regional success.
Great Bend heads to the Class 5A regional tennis tournament on Saturday at McPherson, starting at 9 a.m.
The Lady Panthers’ singles and doubles team all placed second at the WAC meet. One adjustment they made in the late season was moving freshmen Brianna Schartz and Jami McVay to the No. 1 doubles from No. 2.
“Since they’ve moved to No. 1 doubles (Brianna Schartz and Jami McVay) have a 7-2 record,” Shannon Schartz said. They finished ninth at McPherson (during a regular-season tournament) and second at the WAC meet.
“They gave Dodge City a run for their money, there, and we’re real happy with the way they played.”
The top-six placings will qualify players for the Class 5A state tournament, and the McPherson regional is loaded, especially in the doubles competition.
“What we have is McPherson’s and Salina Central’s No. 1 teams, which finished 1-2 in the state last year and will most likely finish 1-2 this year,” Shannon Schartz said.
“Both of their second teams were in top-six last year, and the two Salina South teams definitely will be state medalists in the top 10 this year, too. We have six doubles teams (in Saturday’s regional) that will probably be in the top eight at state.”
Sophia McVay and Brooke Tiemeyer will compete in the singles competition, and the other doubles duo from Great Bend is Abby Hammeke and Randi McAfee.