The Great Bend High School girls’ tennis team is looking for experience to help this postseason after sending two entries to the Class 5A state tournament last year.
The Lady Panthers will be sending four players in the form of a doubles team — Jami McVay and Brianna Schartz — as well as singles players Morgan Francis and Macy Moyers.
Francis, McVay and Brianna Schartz have been there before. Moyers, a freshman, will be headed to the state tournament for the first time.
“All three of the ones that went last year are much improved this year,” GBHS head coach Shannon Schartz said. “They’re quicker and stronger. They’re more versatile on their shot-making.
“Then we’ve got a super freshman. We’ll be a stronger entry this year.”
The 5A tournament will be held at the Topeka-Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka on Friday and Saturday.
At 10 a.m., there will be a coaches meeting to seed the qualifiers.
Starting at 11, the qualifiers will be established, followed by the first matches warming up on the courts. Matches officially start at 11:30.
Brianna Schartz and McVay have a record of 27-5, which is much-improved on last year’s 25-12 mark heading into the state tourney.
The doubles team attributed the improvement to better communication and coordination.
“I think our communication has gotten a lot better,” McVay said. “Working together, moving together as a team, and we’re a lot more consistent as a team.”
Sophomore Francis (26-7) also has experience with state matches, something she said will help her come Friday.
“Last year, it was single elimination, I was kind of nervous, and I lost pretty bad in the first round,” Francis said. “Then after that, I could only play one more match and I won that one. But I didn’t go any further than that.
“Last year, it was so overwhelming, coming out and seeing all these amazing teams that I’d never seen before. This year, will definitely be better.”
Moyers (30-7) said she’s glad to have qualified for the tournament.
“I’m excited, and I’m honored to be there,” Moyers said. “It’d be really nice to place, but I’m not sure that will happen. I hope our team does really well. I’m just happy to be there as a freshman.”
Great Bend has overcome adversity in the form of weather and injury in the past few tournaments.
At the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Garden City on Oct. 1, the Lady Panthers overcame 40 mph wind gusts for a clean sweep of 16 matches.
During last Saturday’s regional tournament at Valley Center, Great Bend faced rain, hail and 30-degree temperatures — not to mention the lights at the Valley Center courts kept shutting off every hour to recharge for 10 to 15 minutes, making the final matches last up to two hours.
“At WAC, we played in 40 to 50 mile-an-hour wind gusts, and at regionals, we played in crazy 30-, 40-degree weather, so I think we’re ready for anything,” Francis said.
Moyers, who finished third at the regional tournament, overcame an ankle injury.
“She’s been playing for years,” Shannon Schartz said. “She’s a very good athlete. In regionals, she reinjured an ankle, and played her last couple matches hopping on one foot. So she was playing the third-fourth match, and basically she’s running up on balls and hopping on one foot.
“Basically, we did a brace and quick tape job on her. I kept telling her we could save the ankle for state, and she didn’t want to quit.”
Moyers said that the injury has improved since Saturday, and she hoped and expected it to be better by Friday.
Shannon Schartz compares the 2012 squad’s talent to that of the GBHS 1998 state-champion team.
“We only qualified three entries that year, like we did this year, only it was two doubles teams and a singles player,” Shannon Schartz said. “We were strong in doubles. McPherson, as well as five other schools, sent their entire teams to state, so we weren’t even considered a dark horse to win state.
“There were about four or five schools that people gave a chance to, and we just came out of the blue that year. We hope to sneak up on people this year. That would be great.”
The Lady Panthers have accomplished most of the goals they’ve set for themselves. They won a WAC title, and finished tied for first at their regional tournament in Valley Center, taking second after a tiebreaker with Maize South.
The goal for the state tournament?
“We’d like to get everybody in the top 10 and medal,” Shannon Schartz said. “We’d like to be in the top-5 teams.”