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WAC CROWN
Lady Panthers finish 16-0 in conference tournament matches on Monday
spt CP GBHS g tennis eam
The Great Bend High School girls tennis team went 16-0 in Western Athletic Conference matches to take first place in Garden City on Monday. From left, Paola Ramirez, Brianna Schartz, Jami McVay, Morgan Francis, Macy Moyers and Stephanie Langer. - photo by COURTESY PHOTO

GARDEN CITY — Any team would want to finish the regular season on a roll, and it can’t be done much better than the Great Bend High School girls’ tennis team.
The Lady Panthers swept a Western Athletic Conference tournament on Monday afternoon at Garden City.
“We were a perfect 16-0 today,” GBHS head coach Shannon Schartz said. “We did very good. We even had some wind with gusts up to 30. There was some rain and even a little hail, so we had to battle the elements.”
The WAC tournament marks the Lady Panthers’ final meet before wading into postseason competition.
Great Bend has been assigned to a Class 5A regional at Valley Center, which starts Saturday at 10 a.m. Seeding for the tournament will happen one hour before the start.
Other teams in attendance will be Goddard, Goddard-Eisenhower, Hays, Maize South, Newton and host Valley Center.
Great Bend sophomore Morgan Francis was named WAC Player of the Year.
“She’s been doing great, and we get her for two more years,” Shannon Schartz said. “We’re pretty young on singles with a freshman and a sophomore, but they have both been doing a great job for us.”
Francis will be taking a 24-6 record into regional play.
Freshman singles player Macy Moyers finishes the regular season at 27-6.
No. 1 doubles team Brianna Schartz and Jami McVay are 25-4 heading into the regional tournament, and No. 2 doubles duo Stephanie Langer and Paola Ramirez are 20-12.
Shannon Schartz said that his team got ahead early in each of their matches.
“The team played really well,” Shannon Schartz said. “I thought we might come out a little sluggish this morning, but they came ready to play.
“We pretty much dominated every match. We got ahead early and played well to end it.”
Shannon Schartz was selected as WAC Coach of the Year.

                                                                      — Kevin Price

PREP TENNIS
Western Athletic Conference tournament

Monday

At Garden City

Team standings
1. Great Bend, 16; 2. Garden City, 9; 3. Hays, 7; 4. Dodge City, 5; 5. Liberal, 3

Great Bend results
No. 1 singles — Morgan Francis (first place) def. Hays, 8-4; def. Liberal, 8-1; def. Dodge City, 8-5; def. Garden City, 8-2.
No. 2 singles — Macy Moyers (first place) def. Hays, 8-2; def. Liberal, 8-2 ; def. Dodge City, 8-2; def. Garden City, 8-2.
No. 1 doubles — Jami McVay & Brianna Schartz (first place) def. Hays, 8-3; def. Liberal, 8-0; def. Dodge City, 8-1; def. Garden City, 8-1.
No. 2 doubles — Stephanie Langer & Paola Ramirez (first place) def. Hays, 8-2; def. Liberal, 8-4; def. Dodge City, 8-0; def. Garden City, 8-2.