It was a decidedly windy welcome to varsity tennis.
Emporia High’s group of varsity rookies who took the EHS courts for the six-team Emporia Invitational on Tuesday had more to contend with than their nervousness, thanks to the cold temperatures and strong winds closing out the month of March.
Given those factors, the Spartans’ performance at their season-opening meet — the first of three they’ll have this week — drew good reviews from coach Matt Irby. EHS finished third in the team totals out of six schools, picking up a third-place finish from its No. 2 doubles team and fourth-place showings from its other entries.
“I thought overall, they played pretty well,” Irby said. “It’s always nice to get some wins to start off. I thought play improved, and the beginning of the year, you’re just trying to figure out how people are playing, and how they adjust to their opponents.”
With the Spartans’ top two returners, Chris Reimer and Jonathan Roman, both sitting out the opening meet, every EHS player was making his first appearance on the varsity stage. The No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Hayden Hanson and junior Brandon Loewen handled the spotlight best from a finish standpoint, beating Topeka High’s doubles team of Connor Lowry and T.J. Thomas in the third-place match 8-5. Before that, Hanson and Loewen went 1-1 in pool play, losing to Ottawa’s Jacob Allen and Schuyler Fulke 8-4 before defeating Hayden’s Nic Angiano and Paul Holthaus 8-2.
“We performed really well,” Loewen said. “The first match, we had a hard time serving it, with all the wind going east. We kinda calmed down, we stayed steady, we hit crosscourt, we got to the net, and we finished, put it away. They weren’t all that much better than us, so we really did a good job.”
Hanson and Loewen were both a bit nervous, and sophomore Saul Trujillo had a lot of nerves to contend with as he competed in the No. 1 singles spot. Trujillo won his first varsity match in pool play, defeating Ottawa’s Cameron Cole 8-6, then dropped an 8-1 match to Hayden’s Taylor Smith. In the third-place match, he lost to Lawrence’s Taylor Seratte 8-2.
“I was really nervous,” Trujillo said. “I had a little crowd going. I pulled through the first one, but it was really nerve-wracking.”
Those big gusts of wind weren’t a major factor, in his mind.
“The wind affected both players, so I can’t use that as an excuse,” Trujillo said. “But the wind really sucks, but I did good today I think, overall.”
In No. 2 singles, sophomore Mark Kitchens also went 1-2 to finish fourth, as did the No. 1 doubles team of senior Todd Koelsch and sophomore Zach Windsor. Kitchens lost to Ottawa’s Andrew Lanning 8-5 to open pool play, beat Hayden’s Andy Grollmes 8-1, then lost to Andover Central’s Chase Prewett 8-1 in his final match of the day. Koelsch and Windsor beat Ottawa’s team of Austin Hasty and Rogan Frings by an 8-6 count, lost 8-3 to Gabe O’Shea and Sam Hurd of Hayden, then lost to Lawrence’s Ryan Abbott and Michael Sang 8-5.
Andover Central came out on top in the team scoring with 25 points, and Lawrence finished second with 17. Emporia had 13, Ottawa and Hayden each had 12 and Topeka High had nine.
Irby said Reimer and Roman would both play in the Spartans’ home meets this week on Thursday and Saturday.
“At the beginning of the year, our lineup’s gonna constantly change,” he said. “It’s just good to see how people can play at doubles or singles, or wherever we put ’em. ... So far, so good.”
Emporia Invitational
Team scores
Andover Central 25, Lawrence 17, Emporia 13, Hayden 12, Ottawa 12, Topeka High 9.
Emporia results
No. 1 singles
Trujillo, EMP, def. Cole, OTT, 8-6; Smith, HAY, def. Trujillo 8-1; Seratte, LAW, def. Trujillo 8-2.
No. 2 singles
Lanning, OTT, def. Kitchens, EMP, 8-5; Kitchens def. Grollmes, HAY, 8-1; Prewett, AC, def. Kitchens 8-1.
No. 1 doubles
Windsor/Koelsch, EMP, def. Hasty/Frings, OTT, 8-6; O’Shea/Hurd, HAY, def. Windsor/Koelsch 8-3; Abbott/Sang, LAW, def. Windsor/Koelsch 8-5.
No. 2 doubles
Allen/Fulke, OTT, def. Hanson/Loewen, EMP, 8-4; Hanson/Loewen def. Angiano/Holthaus 8-2; Hanson/Loewen def. Lowry/Thomas, TH, 8-5.