ELLINWOOD — Larned High School missed sweeping the Mid-Central Activities Association girls’ tennis tournament on Thursday by one match.
The Lady Indians won seven of their eight matches, dropping a No. 2 singles match against Hoisington.
“I thought we played well,” Larned head coach Mark Lessard said. “I know it would be nice to have more teams in our league. We almost had a sweep. Our No. 2 singles struggled a little bit, but she had a great match against Ellinwood.”
There were two matches that went into tiebreakers — one in No. 1 doubles competition and one in No. 1 singles.
Larned’s No. 1 doubles team, consisting of Bailey Schartz and Alex Lessard, captured a win against Ellinwood’s doubles duo of Rachel Doll and Danae Patten with a 7-5 win in a tiebreaker.
“They pulled out a good win against Ellinwood,” Mark Lessard said. “Every win’s a good win. They’re playing well.”
Ellinwood’s Oma Thomas, the only returning player from last year’s Class 2A state championship team, snagged a 7-4 win in a tiebreaker to close the tournament, defeating Hoisington’s Deiah Curtis.
“Oma struggled today,” Ellinwood head coach Lyle Stickney said. “She was listless, which is odd for her because she’s usually upbeat and racing around the court. She clawed and scratched her way through it.
“She dropped a tough match against Jessi (Johnson), a quality player from Larned. Then she won in a brutal match with Hoisington.”
The Lady Indians, who have claimed first place in five of their seven meets this season, will be competing on Saturday in McPherson. The tournament, which is Larned’s last before its Class 4A regional tournament hosted by Pratt, starts at 9 a.m.
“It’s a real strong meet,” Mark Lessard said. “There are 13 teams. We’re by far the smallest school there. There’s a lot of 5A and 6A schools. Last year, we finished fifth out of 13 or 14 teams.”
Ellinwood and Hoisington are done for the regular season, and will be competing in a Class 3-1A regional tournament, hosted by Russell, on Oct. 6.
“As a whole, we played better as a team,” Hoisington head coach Kerry Mooney said. “We have a young team, and Ellinwood and Larned have great teams.
“Russell’s going to be tough, especially in the singles. It’s just going to be a tough regional.”

PREP TENNIS
Larned High School/
Ellinwood/Hoisington

Thursday

At Ellinwood

Team standings
1. Larned, 7; 2. Ellinwood, 3; 3. Hoisington, 2

No. 1 singles
Jessi Johnson, Larned, def. Deiah Curtis, Hoisington, 9-6; Johnson, Larned, def. Oma Thomas, Ellinwood, 9-6; Thomas, Ellinwood, def. Curtis, Hoisington, 9-8 (7-4).

No. 2 singles
Alexis Langdon, Larned, def. Mattie Shafer, Ellinwood, 9-2; Jessica Schauf, Hoisington, def. M. Shafer, Ellinwood, 9-2; Schauf, Hoisington, def. Langdon, Larned, 9-3.

No. 1 doubles
Bailey Schartz & Alex Lessard, Larned, def. Rachel Doll & Danae Patten, Ellinwood, 9-8 (7-5); Doll & Patten, Ellinwood, def. Katy Barrett & Kayla Reisner, Hoisington, 9-1; Schartz & Lessard, Larned, def. Barrett & Reisner, 9-1.

No. 2 doubles
Katie Shafer & Mikayla Monday, Ellinwood, def. Erica Schwager & Kylie Broeder, Hoisington, 9-2; Braeden Bert & Corrine Quick, Larned, def. Schwager & Broeder, Hoisington, 9-0; Bert & Quick, Larned, def. K. Shafer & Monday, Ellinwood, 9-4.