Emporia High’s doubles team of Jordan Sosa and Rose Nasrazadani were eliminated from the 5A state tennis tournament Friday afternoon at the EHS tennis courts, losing their first two matches in the double-elimination tourney.
Paired against the top overall seed, St. Thomas Aquinas’ team of Natalie Looney and Elizabeth Close, Sosa and Nasrazadani were overpowered in their opening match, losing 6-0, 6-0.
“We just couldn’t get our volleys,” Sosa said. “They were all going in the net, and they were just hitting some low shots, and it was hard.”
About an hour later, Sosa and Nasrazadani faced off against Megan Myers and Siera Lungren of Arkansas City. The Spartans got a win in the third game of the first set, but had trouble after that, ultimately losing 6-2, 6-0.
Nasrazadani is a senior; Sosa, a junior, will have another crack at making state next year.
“It was really fun,” Sosa said of her first experience at state. “It was a lot different from just regular meets, but I liked it.”
Looney and Close advanced through the semifinals later in the day, defeating Kristen Holle and Margaret Davidson of McPherson 6-4, 6-2. Also winning in the semis were Hanna Heidbrecht and Kristen Reith of McPherson, Megan and Maddie Schulte of Kapun Mt. Carmel and Kelsie George and Marijana Gjorgjevska of Gardner-Edgerton.
In singles, quarterfinal winners included Nicole Jara of Aquinas, Hillary Hicks of Bishop Carroll, Casyn Buchman of McPherson and Abby Stevens of Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
The 5A state tournament was to continue today at the Emporia High courts beginning at 9 a.m.