Two points.
That’s how close the Chanute Blue Comets were from securing their first SEK League girls tennis crown in a generation on Saturday.
Independence claimed the title with 43 points. Chanute was runner-up with 41 points, followed by Parsons (30), Labette County (23), Fort Scott (21), Pittsburg (19) and Coffeyville (7).
“We were heartbroken. There were a lot of tears from the whole team,” Chanute head coach Jeff Smith said. “It came down to one match. We just couldn’t get things going. But it’s not all on that, either. There’s matches we could’ve won that would’ve put us in a better spot. But our goal from Day 1 was to win a league title. It’s a life lesson. No matter how much effort you give, sometimes you come up short. It was tough, because our seniors wanted it badly.”
Ella Guernsey, the No. 1 seed in singles, breezed the SEK singles crown with wins over Dylan Schnurbusch, Lucy Pearson and Sarah Veile.
“She played great and she always does,” Smith said. “She’s the kid we depend on. At the end of any situation, she’s the one we’d pick. She’s a three-sport athlete that knows how to compete and nothing phases her. She’s pretty rock solid.”
Sarah Uhner finished in fourth place in singles, beating Lexi Jones of Parsons before losing to Veile and Pearson.
“She’s another one that has been so dependable all season,” Smith said. “Credit her with an assist for Ella. After that match against Veile, both of them were struggling physically. That showed in the championship match. She is relatively new to tennis, competing at a high level. This was her first year on varsity. So the season she’s put together has us really excited.”
J.J. Smoot and Leah Burnett finished in fourth in doubles, winning their first two matches before falling in the semifinals and the third place match.
“It’s never an effort issue with those two,” Smith said. “They always give me everything we’ve got. But they have some consistency issues. That’s been the story with both of our doubles’ teams. It’s a rollercoaster ride. They came up short to an Indy team they had beaten in the past.”
Ashtyn Cummings and Kanika Marcoux finished in seventh place.
“I love the way they played,” Smith said. “They were the No. 7 seed and they held. They did their job when they could’ve fallen backwards after taking a tough loss to Fort Scott and Parsons. That’s a tough seventh place match, but they came out with a lot of energy.”
Up next
Chanute heads to Independence on Friday for the Class 4A Regional Tournament, which will last two days.
The Independence regional is widely viewed as the most brutal in the state, featuring all of the 4A schools in the SEK League plus Wellington and Winfield.
“I sent a message to the team that we have to move on from SEK and now we have to get as many girls to state,” Smith said. “This is the new 4A landscape. It’s not as easy as it was in prior years with more teams coming up. We’ve just got to embrace it and understand how it’s going to be. It is not an ideal situation that four teams in our regional are in the top six of the power rankings. But that’s how it is. It’s going to be a gauntlet.”
