The Blue Valley North girls tennis program wins titles.

Lots of them.

The Mustangs have won 18 state titles since 1995, with all but one being in Class 6A. They achieved that amazing mark even while competing against a Shawnee Mission East program that has won 10 of its 13 state titles during that same time period.

But even in the years where the Lancers take state, Blue Valley North has maintained another equally impressive title streak.

Blue Valley North took first in this year’s Eastern Kansas League championship tournament Saturday, Oct. 1 at the College Boulevard Activities Center in Olathe. The Mustangs have won that event for 17 straight years.

Blue Valley North head coach Tracey Johnson, who has been the coach for five of the program’s state titles and the last 12 league titles, said everybody on the team felt great about winning this year’s league title, but that would have been true even without the streak. 

“Every year it is still eight teams and nine different players on each team,” Johnson said. “It’s a challenge every year so every year it’s an accomplishment. It doesn’t matter if it’s been that many in a row or not.”

Blue Valley North did not have a singles or doubles champion in this one as Blue Valley Northwest players took both. But the Mustangs relied on depth to outscore the Huskies 74 to 60 in the team race.

Senior Joy Yan and sophomore Shelby Smith reached the singles semifinals. Senior Emma Razi and junior Nancy Di Palo cruised to the finals as the top doubles seed while seniors Sophia Baillos and Meghan Coleman gave the Mustangs’ their fourth entry in the semifinals.
 

Blue Valley Northwest senior Emily Chiasson continued her march toward redemption after settling for Class 6A runner-up last year. Chiasson, who has not last a match to a Kansas competitor this season, didn't drop a game until her 8-1 victory over Yan in the semifinals and refused to drop another in a 8-0 win over Smith in the finals. Yan finished strong with a 8-3 win over Blue Valley Southwest’s Jensen Gibbs in the third-place match.

Huskies juniors Saraphina Wambi and Lydia Peng were able to get an 8-3 victory over Razi and Di Palo, avenging a 8-7 (4) loss during a match a week before league.

“We finished higher than our seeds in almost every position,” Johnson said. “The way it really plays out is usually how deep is your team? So how does your top (players) perform… then the three doubles and three singles, how well do they do overall? We had a couple really nice wins by our three doubles that really helped.”
Johnson said that even with the top two entries in both singles and doubles still going in the semifinals, the players are otherwise left in the dark about the points standings until the tournament is complete.

“They are always on pins and needles excited to hear how they’ve done,” Johnson said. “They never take it for granted and they had a very excited reaction.”

With most of her top four of her top six players being juniors, Johnson delivered a simple message to her group before regionals.

“At this point it’s the time where they want to give the best effort they can do,” Johnson said. “As long as they leave it all out there on the court, it’s the best season we’ve ever had.”

 

SM EAST DUO STAYS ON PATH TOWARD HISTORY

Shawnee Mission East took home the Sunflower League title, scoring 78 points to edge out runner-up Olathe Northwest at 72 and Lawrence Free State at 68.

SM East seniors Bryson Langford and Greta Stechschulte finished the first of four four-peats they had planned for this season. 

The Lancers duo clinched the league doubles titles for the fourth time. Now they will set their sights on a fourth regional title and a fourth state title. The last feat would make them the first pair to complete a perfect four-for-four doubles state titles in Kansas history, and will put SM East in position to win a fourth straight state title as well.

The only other competitors to win four doubles titles in Kansas was Amy Rheem and Hannah Osland of Wichita Collegiate. Rheem won four doubles state titles in Class 3-2-1A from 1993-96 with three different partners while Osland sandwiched two 4A titles around two 3-2-1A titles from 2012-15, pairing with Morgan Bergen for the first and Allie Lindwall for the final three. Just like the Lancers duo, Rheem and Osland helped their teams win state team titles all four years. 

Langford and Stechschulte’s path toward history has once again left a pair of teammates holding on to second place. Juniors Abigail Long and Katie Schmidt settled for runner-up as the Lancers top doubles team won 8-1 in the finals.

Senior Katie Murphy took third place by beating a teammate as well, earning an 8-1 victory over Ishya Bhavsar.

Free State sophomore Kinley Van Pelt continued her perfect season as she won the Sunflower League singles title. After she beat Murphy 8-1 in the semifinals, she defeated Olathe Northwest junior Ella Novion in the final.
 

OTHER STANDOUTS

• Spring Hill won the Frontier League tournament as senior Logan Kilbey and junior Olivia Infante won the doubles titles as well. The Broncos duo beat Mattie Newson and Luci Smith of Bonner Springs. Senior Arianna Martin reached the singles finals, but ultimately lost to Penelope Kline of Bonner Springs.
   

  

• Independence clinched every semifinals spot in the Southeast Kansas League tournament as the Bulldogs captured another league team title. Abby Veile defeated Ava Morris in the singles final while Callie Schlorholtz and Brooklyn Mattix beat Ellie and Hannah Kippenberger for the doubles title.