The No. 1 doubles team of Grant Price and Kyle deBlonk finished seventh to lead the Emporia High tennis team at the Centennial League Tournament at Topeka’s Kossover Tennis Center on Monday.
Emporia finished sixth out of the 10 league teams.
Playing as the No. 2 seed, Price and deBlonk nearly swept through four matches of pool play, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Hayden’s Cody Martinek and Joe Flynn by an 8-5 margin.
The match against Martinek and Flynn was tied at 5 before the Hayden duo took over to claim the last three games and the victory.
“That was probably a team they should have beaten,” EHS coach Matt Irby said. “We missed an overhead shot that would have given us the lead at 6-5, but instead, we went down 6-5 and after that, we let that affect us.”
In bracket play, deBlonk and Price fell to Mark Harper and Garrett Gunn of Topeka West, 8-3, before rebounding to defeat Hayden’s J.T. Peterson and Thomas Haefele, 8-4, to claim seventh place.
“They played all right,” Irby said of Price and deBlonk’s day. “They’ll definitely need to pick it up for Regionals and State, should they make it that far.”
Chris Reimer at the No. 1 singles spot also ended with a top-10 placing, as the freshman compiled a 3-3 record overall to finish ninth.
Reimer’s day began with back-to-back losses to Hayden’s Danny Sheehy, 8-4, and Washburn Rural’s Sebastian Rieter, 8-3, before he broke through with an 8-4 victory over Sam Stuckey of Junction City. Seaman’s Tyler Nelson defeated Reimer in the final match of pool play to drop Reimer to 1-3 on the day.
However, he bounced back to earn bracket-play victories over Topeka West’s Hobie Parker, 8-0, and Blake Hamilton, 8-5, to even his record at 3-3 to take the ninth spot.
“Chris competed the best out of anybody,” Irby said. “We had the deepest singles field in pool play, and Chris gave those guys all they wanted and more. He held his own against all of them, and he had a good win in his last match, too.”
At the No. 2 singles position, Sergio Segura finished in 15th place with a 1-4 record, with his lone victory coming in bracket play over Manhattan’s Alex Shinn, 8-1.
At No. 2 doubles, the highlight of the day for Mark DeDonder and Jonathan Roman was an 8-6 victory over Topeka West’s Alex Wilson and Jake VanSlyke, a doubles duo that Emporia will see on Thursday at Regionals. DeDonder and Roman finished 11th with a 3-3 record.
“It’s nice to get those head-to-head wins over guys in our Regional,” Irby said. “Overall, I’m not all that pleased, but not terribly upset either.”
The next action for the Spartans will be Regionals, which also will be held at Kossover Tennis Center on Thursday in Topeka.
Monday at Topeka
Centennial League Tournament
Team Scores
Washburn Rural 91, Hayden 72, Shawnee Heights 63 , Topeka High 61, Topeka West 51, Emporia 49, Seaman 45, Manhattan 43, Junction City 14, Highland Park 7.
No. 1 singles
Danny Sheehy (Hay) def. Chris Reimer (Emp), 8-4; Sebastian Rieter (WR) def. Reimer, 8-3; Reimer def. Sam Stuckey (JC), 8-4; Tyler Nelson (Sea) def. Reimer, 8-4; Reimer def. Hobie Parker (TW), 8-0; Reimer def. Blake Hamilton (TW) 8-5.
No. 2 singles
Chance Joost (SH) def. Sergio Segura (Emp), 8-0; Taylor Obley (TH) def. Segura, 8-3; Hobie Parker (TW) def. Segura, 8-5; Tyler Nelson (Sea) def. Segura, 8-4; Segura def. Alex Shinn (Man), 8-1.
No. 1 doubles
Grant Price/Kyle deBlonk (Emp) def. Philip Lucero/Adam Baker (SH), 8-5; Price/deBlonk def. Eyestone/Keifer (Man), 8-0; Price/deBlonk def. Spencer Bachand/Baylor Baptista (JC), 8-0; Cody Martinek/Joe Flynn (Hay) def. Price/deBlonk, 8-5; Mark Harper/Garrett Gunn (TW) def. Price/deBlonk, 8-3; Price/deBlonk def. J.T. Peterson/Thomas Haefele (Hay), 8-4.
No. 2 doubles
Bronson Brassel/Jason Lepse (WR) def. Mark DeDonder/Jonathan Roman (Emp), 8-0; DeDonder/Roman def. Willie Ramsdell/Luke Daudy (HP), 8-3; DeDonder/Roman def. John Rule/Kyle Etzel (Sea), 8-3; Mark Harper/Garrett Gunn (TW) def. DeDonder/Roman, 8-1; Philip Lucero/Adam Baker (SH) def. DeDonder/Roman, 8-0; DeDonder/Roman def. Alex Wilson/Jake VanSlyke (TW), 8-6.