Changes brought about positive results for the Emporia High tennis team Thursday at the Seaman Invitational in Topeka.
Playing in their second meet in as many days, the Spartans made some lineup changes before the invitational, which resulted in a first-place team finish.
“The guys had a winning mentality,” coach Matt Irby said. “To get first as a team, that is a pretty good indication of how well we played.”
The usual No. 1 doubles team of seniors Grant Price and Kyle deBlonk split into singles play, with Price taking the No. 1 spot and deBlonk playing in the No. 2 slot.
Price opened play by defeating Junction City’s Sam Stuckey, 8-2, before falling to Seaman’s Steven Fletcher, 8-4, in the second round. Price came back in the third-place match to pick up an 8-3 victory over Joe Schultz of Bishop Miege to claim third.
“Grant played about as good as I’ve seen him play,” Irby said. “The guy he lost to will challenge for State.”
As for deBlonk, after receiving a first-round bye, he defeated Shawnee Heights’ Justin Thompson, 8-1, and Seaman’s Tyler Nelson, 8-5, to claim first place.
“Kyle played really well,” deBlonk said. “He was very consistent.
“Singles-wise, I don’t think those two (deBlonk and Price) could have played much better.”
On the doubles side, Mark DeDonder and Jonathan Roman teamed up for the first time in another change that paid off, as the pair came away with a second-place finish.
The duo made it to the title match by defeated teams from Junction City and Shawnee Heights before falling to the team from Hayden, 8-5.
“They had some shaky moments out there,” Irby said, “but they were right there. The team they lost to finished second at State last year.”
In No. 2 doubles, Adam Coburn and David Nasrazadani made it to the third-place match, where they found themselves down 6-5 to the team from Bishop Miege. However, Coburn and Nasrazadani rallied to take the next three games to win, 8-6.
Emporia finished with 24 points, two points ahead of second-place Shawnee Heights and three points in front of third-place Seaman.
Seaman Invitational
Thursday at Topeka
Team Scores
Emporia 24, Shawnee Heights 22, Seaman 21, Hayden 20, Bishop Miege 14, Junction City 10, Hiawatha 2.
No. 1 singles
Grant Price (Emp) defeated Sam Stuckey (JC) 8-2; Steven Fletcher (Sea) defeated Price, 8-4; Price defeated Joe Schultz (Miege), 8-3.
No. 2 singles
Kyle deBlonk (Emp), BYE; deBlonk defeaeted Justin Thompson (SH), 8-1; deBlonk defeated Tyler Nelson (Sea), 8-5.
No. 1 doubles
Mark DeDonder/Jonathan Roman (Emp) defeated Spencer Bontrager/Jarrett Bellendir (JC), 8-2; DeDonder/Roman defeated Josh Hardy/Brandon Correll (SH), 8-1; Martinek/Flynn (Hay) defeated DeDonder/Roman, 8-5.
No. 2 doubles
Adam Coburn/David Nasrazadani (Emp) defeated Crenshaw/Yingling, 8-3; Peterson/Haefele (Hay) defeated Coburn/Nasrazadani, 8-3; Coburn/Nasrazadani defeated Christie/Wincierz (Miege), 8-6.