40 GIRLS TENNIS PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2023
 

 HAYDEN BELLAMY, COLBY

Bellamy has established herself as one of the top players in western Kansas throughout her career. The senior has just four losses over the last two seasons, all coming in the state tournament. She took fifth in Class 4A last year after a fourth-place showing in 3-2-1A in 2021. Bellamy dropped a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) decision in the state quarterfinals last year to eventual runner-up Elyssa Frieze from Chapman. Bellamy didn’t start playing tennis until her freshman season. “Expect Hayden to have more weapons in her arsenal this year,” coach Wendy Weishaar said.

 

 

HANNAH CARNEY AND RILEY TERHUNE, OLATHE NORTHWEST

Carney and Terhune return from a 26-9 sophomore campaign and fourth-place finish at state. Carney and Terhune reached the state semifinals before they ran into eventual Class 6A state champions Bryson Langford and Greta Stechschulte of Shawnee Mission East, losing 6-2, 6-0. They took the first set 6-2 in the third-place match before Blue Valley North’s Nancy Di Palo and Emma Razi won the next two sets 6-3, 6-2. As freshmen, Carney and Terhune took eighth in doubles.
 

 

LANEY CONRAD AND JULIA HERRMAN, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
Conrad and Herrman helped Collegiate win its 14^th consecutive state championship last October by capturing the Class 3-2-1A doubles title. That included a script reversal over now-graduated teammates Tatum Bhargava and Kinsey Nichols in the final. Now juniors, Conrad and Herrman dropped a three-set match to Bhargava and Nichols at regionals, but avenged that with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at Topeka’s Kossover Center. Conrad and Herrman, who finished 22-5, won the final five games of the title match, and also rallied after dropping the first set of their semifinal against Sterling’s Kate Rowland and Karissa Jones. Their return should bolster the Spartans as they move forward without retired coach Dave Hawley.
 

 
LYRIC CORNEJO, WELLINGTON

After a successful two-year run with recent graduate Jensen Lynnes in doubles, Cornejo will likely try to end her high school career on a high note with a new partner. Cornejo, a senior, earned her second state medal with Lynnes last fall, finishing fifth in Class 4A. The pair posted a 23-11 record after going 23-8 with a fourth-place state finish the previous year. Cornejo, who has 67 career victories between singles and doubles, could play alongside junior Kadynce Aufdengarten, a two-time state medalist, younger sister Cruz Cornejo or Logan Robinson, a sophomore who played singles for the Crusaders last season.
 

 
LARA DE CARVALHO, WICHITA COLLEGIATE

The Spartans took a big graduation hit in singles with the loss of three-time state champion Emma Mantovani, but De Carvalho made her mark last season as a freshman. She finished 28-7 and took sixth in Class 3-2-1A after entering the state tournament as the top seed. De Carvalho won the Conway Springs regional when Mantovani defaulted in the final due to illness. But De Carvalho dropped just three games in three matches leading up to that. At state, she lost to Sacred Heart’s Katherine Weiss in the quarters, but still helped Collegiate stretch its run of consecutive state titles to 14 years.
 

NANCY DI PALO, BLUE VALLEY NORTH
 
Di Palo hopes to close out her high school preps career with a third straight state medalist finish. She had her best finish a season ago with her now-graduated doubles partner Emma Razi. The duo entered state with a regional title and a 17-6 record before falling to the eventual state runner-up, Shawnee Mission East’s Abigail Long and Katie Schmidt in the state semifinals. Di Palo and Razi lost that one 6-3, 6-2. The Mustangs duo looked like they might suffer the same fate in the third-place match against Olathe Northwest’s Hannah Carney and Riley Terhune. Despite winning 6-3, 6-3 against the same pair in the regional final the week before, Carney and Terhune took the first set 6-2. Di Palo and Razi recovered with 6-3, 6-2 advantages over the next two sets. As a sophomore, Di Palo finished 11th in doubles with Razi.

ELYSSA FRIEZE, CHAPMAN
 
Fifth in singles at the Class 4A state tournament as a freshman and third as a sophomore, Frieze moved up to a runner-up finish last fall. Two of last year’s three losses in a 27-3 season came to eventual 4A champion Ainzley Zulueta of Hayden, including a 6-2, 6-3 loss in the 4A championship match. In reaching the finals last year, Frieze knocked off 2020 4A champion Isabella Sebits of Wichita Trinity Academy in a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 semifinal marathon after outlasting one-loss Hayden Bellamy of Colby 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in the quarterfinals. Frieze went 29-1 in taking third as a sophomore and is 74-6 in her high school career.
 

RYLEE FRYE, MAIZE

Frye has been a key contributor for the Eagles her first two seasons, leading them to an Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I title last fall with her first-place finish in singles. A two-time state qualifier, Frye capped a 31-11 season with a 10^th-place finish in Class 5A, working her way through the consolation bracket after falling to Andover’s Mia Jaramillo in her opening match. She took second in the Salina Central regional, a one-spot improvement from her freshman year, when she posted a 23-16 record and a 1-2 mark at state.
 

 
MOLLY GADDIS, ANDOVER

Gaddis, a junior, claimed her second Class 5A state singles medal last season, finishing 11^th after a fourth-place showing as a freshman. Despite the drop, her points padded the Trojans’ margin over rival Andover Central and helped them win their second straight 5A team title. Gaddis was runner-up to eventual 5A singles champion Brynn Steven of Bishop Carroll at regionals, part of her 25-11 season. Gaddis, who posted a 24-12 mark as a freshman, will again play singles for the Trojans, who return their entire state roster.
 

 
JENSEN GIBBS, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST
 
Gibbs returns for her junior campaign looking to push further than her sixth-place finishes from the last two years. Gibbs went 19-7 last season, reaching the state quarterfinals before losing to eventual Class 5A third-place finisher Janae Montoya of Salina Central 6-2, 6-2. Gibbs picked up two wins on the backside of the bracket before losing to Bishop Carroll’s Logan Jagolinzer 9-6 in the fifth-place match. Gibbs also took sixth place as freshman the year before, falling to Montoya in that last consolation match.

 

EMILY GOETZ, CIMARRON

Goetz fashioned a 28-4 record last season as a junior. She won five regular-season tournaments and placed 12th at the 3-1A state tournament in Topeka. Two of Goetz’s losses were to Colby’s Hayden Bellamy, who took fifth at state in Class 4A. Her other losses were against Scott City’s Malorie Cupp, a 4A state qualifier, and Larned’s Abby Holt, a fourth-place finisher in 3-1A. The loss to Holt came at regionals, though Goetz defeated Holt earlier in the season. Goetz will look to make a fourth straight state appearance. She played doubles with her sister, Elizabeth, as a freshman before switching to singles as a sophomore in 2021 and posting a 24-8 record.   

 NATALIE HERSHBERGER, NEWTON
 
Hershberger made a big late-season splash with her doubles partner, Italian foreign-exchange student Giulia Intrioni, a year ago, winning the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I doubles title en route to a fourth-place finish at the Class 5A tournament. After defeating two state medalist teams at the league meet, their state path included a straight-set quarterfinal win over regional champions Hannah Pappademos and Nadia Kaewsai of Andover. The Railer junior has 39 career doubles victories, but enters the season with an undetermined role as coach Jennifer Duncan weighs her options.
 

 
ABBY HOLT, LARNED
 
After qualifying for state with her older sister Kathryn in doubles as a sophomore, Holt followed with a successful season in singles last fall, posting a 25-6 record and waking up on the final day of the Class 3-2-1A tournament with a chance to win it all. She settled for fourth place, dropping a three-set semifinal to Sacred Heart’s Katherine Weiss and losing to regional champion Kyla Metro in the finale. Still, Holt carved an impressive path to Topeka. She won the Goodland regional title with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Cimarron’s Emily Goetz, avenging one of her regular-season losses in the process. The Holts were 21-10 in doubles two years ago with a pair of state victories. 
 

 LOGAN JAGOLINZER, BISHOP CARROLL

Jagolinzer provided a solid complement to her teammate and Class 5A singles champion Brynn Steven last fall, posting a 31-8 record and finishing fifth at state as a freshman. After losing to Salina Central’s Janae Montoya in the quarterfinals, Jagolinzer rolled through the consolation bracket, yielding just two games in her next four matches before a 9-6 victory over Blue Valley Southwest’s Jensen Gibbs in the season finale. Jagolinzer also won the No. 2 singles title in the Greater Wichita Athletic League tournament, losing just one game in her march through the bracket to help the Golden Eagles capture the team title.
 

MIA JARAMILLO, ANDOVER
 
Jaramillo aided Andover’s successful Class 5A title defense last fall by advancing to the state semifinals before dropping her final two matches to finish fourth. A third-place finisher at regionals, Jaramillo’s first state appearance included a second-round victory over Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I champion Rylee Frye of Maize. Seaman’s Lauren Sweeney ended Jaramillo’s title bid in the semis, while Salina Central’s Janae Montoya topped her for third to end her season at 23-8. Coach Steve Alexander plans to plug Jaramillo back into his talented lineup at singles as the Trojans pursue a state three-peat. 
 

 ANNA JITTAWAIT AND BROOKE WALKER, ANDOVER
 
A talented multi-sport duo, Jittawait and Walker begin their fourth season as doubles partners and hope to finally complete the climb to the state tournament summit. The Trojan duo rolled through most of their junior season to a 29-3 record, with two of the losses coming to Andover Central’s Grace Schaefer and McKinnley Evans. Schaefer and Evans stopped Jittawait and Walker 6-4, 6-4 in the Class 5A semifinals, sending them to their second straight third-place state finish after a sixth-place showing as freshmen. The Trojans did topple eventual state champions Maya Chon and Bryer Geoffrey of Andover Central three times, and take a 69-12 career doubles record into their final high school season. Jittawait and Walker have won two Wichita Collegiate Tournament of Champions titles. 
 

 
KALI KEOUGH, EMPORIA
 
Keough enjoyed a solid debut season for the Spartans, finishing 25-11 and eighth in singles at the Class 5A state tournament. Keough lost in the state quarterfinals to eventual state champion Brynn Steven of Bishop Carroll, 6-1, 6-0. She started the season 14-1 and all but one of her losses came to state placers.

 

 
KORI KRAMER, HESSTON
 
The Swathers’ solid doubles duo of Kramer and Cassie Albin is no more, as Albin is off to play softball at Bethel College. But after finishing ninth with Albin in Class 3-2-1A in 2021 and fourth last season, Kramer enters her senior season likely to continue as Hesston’s doubles anchor. Kramer and Albin knocked off regional champions Gracie and Leavie Riner of Osborne en route to the state semifinals a year ago. Coach Travis Sebits has identified three or four possible candidates to partner with Kramer, who teamed with Albin to finish 20-11 last season and 18-15 in 2021.
 

 
SHEA KRAMER, MARYSVILLE
 
After taking 10^th in singles at the 2021 Class 3-2-1A state tournament, Kramer moved up to a fifth place finish last year. The Bulldog didn’t lose a match to a 3-2-1A competitor until the state tournament with all six of her regular season losses coming to 6A, 5A and 4A foes, including two-time 4A champion Ainzley Zulueta of Hayden and 2021 6A champion Jill Harkin of Manhattan (twice). Kramer beat eventual 3-2-1A state runner-up Katie Weiss of Sacred Heart in the regional finals. At state, Kramer ran into eventual state champion Emma Mantovani of Wichita Collegiate in the quarterfinals and won the first set 6-4 before Mantovani rallied for 6-0, 6-3 wins to advance. Kramer rebounded from the loss and cruised through the consolation bracket to take fifth, capping a 30-7 season.
 

 

BRODIE AND RIGGS KUHN, MCPHERSON
 
After helping McPherson capture the Class 4A team title with a seventh-place singles finish two years ago, Riggs Kuhn welcomed younger sister Brodie to the team last fall and the duo posted a third-place finish in state doubles. The Kuhns, winners of their home regional, finished the season 26-3 and had their title bid stopped by Wichita Trinity’s Darcy Dunne and Sophia Majors in the semifinals. Riggs, a senior, posted a 29-9 singles record in 2021. She also earned All-Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division III-IV first-team honors as a soccer defender in the spring. Brodie helped McPherson’s girls golf team qualify for state last October, as well.  
 

 

ABIGAIL LONG AND KATIE SCHMIDT, SHAWNEE MISSION EAST
 
Long and Schmidt have been nearly perfect as doubles partners for the last three seasons, including a 22-3 junior campaignd and third straight state runner-up finish. The only problem is that their former teammates Bryson Langford and Greta Stechschulte stood in their way because of that duo’s own quest for perfection. Langford and Stechschulte completed a four-peat as Class 6A doubles champs last fall. Those two never lost a doubles match against Kansas opponents in that time. Long and Schmidt would be able to make the same claim, if not for their losses to Langford and Stechschulte. Now Long and Schmidt will be the frontrunners for the first time as they try to lead the Lancers to their fifth straight state title.
 

SOPHIA MAJORS, WICHITA TRINITY
 
Majors, a senior, will discover a new role this season after completing a three-year run in doubles with now-graduated Darcy Dunne. Their partnership ended last October in the Class 4A state doubles final with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Hayden’s Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz. After rallying for a three-set victory in their home regional final, Majors and Dunne’s state run capped a 24-7 season and a 64-23 run as doubles partners. Coach Kevin Dobyns is keeping his options open for Majors, who helped the Knights finish third in the 4A team competition last season.
   

BROOKLYN MATTIX AND CALLIE SCHLORHOLTZ, INDEPENDENCE
 
Mattix, a sophomore, and Schlorholtz, a junior, return from a 26-6 record and a fourth-place finish at state a year ago. Mattix and Schlorholtz reached the state semifinals before losing to eventual Class 4A state champions Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz of Topeka Hayden, losing 6-1, 6-3. Before that match, Mattix and Schlorholtz found themselves down a set in the quarterfinals against Wellington’s Jensen Lynnes and Lyric Cornejo before ultimately winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Mattix and Schlorholtz beat their older teammates, Ellie and Hannah Kippenberger, in their regional final. As a freshman, Schlorholtz took 11th in Class 4A singles. She also took regional runner-up that year, losing to her teammate Ava Morris. Morris, who finished eighth at state in singles last year, will try to help Mattix and Schlorholtz close the gap on Hayden for the team title. The Bulldogs finished as state runner-up in 4A.

 JANAE MONTOYA, SALINA CENTRAL
 
Montoya is the veteran of a talented Mustang team, coming off her second straight 31-win season, which ended with a third-place finish in Class 5A singles. The senior’s lone losses last fall came to the 5A finalists – champion Brynn Steven of Bishop Carroll (whom she also defeated during the 2022 season) and runner-up Lauren Sweeney of Seaman. Montoya was 31-9 as a sophomore, falling to eventual champion Reagan Boleski in the state quarterfinals. A two-time regional champion and the reigning Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division II singles champ, Montoya and five returning junior state qualifiers will try to improve on a third-place team finish at state.
 

AVA MORRIS, INDEPENDENCE

Morris was a strong No. 2 singles complement to Abby Veile a year ago, going 27-13 and placing eighth at the Class 4A state tournament. Three of her losses came to her teammate Veile while four more came to state champions, including 5A champ Brynn Steven of Bishop Carroll (twice), 3-2-1A champion Emma Mantovani of Wichita Collegiate and past 4A champion Isabella Sebits of Wichita Trinity Academy. All of her losses came to state placers. With Veile having graduated, Morris will take on the No. 1 singles spot this year and look to help lead Independence to a 4A state championship after taking second as a team last year.

 

 
ELLA NOVION, OLATHE NORTHWEST

Novion has her sights set on reaching the Class 6A state semifinals for the third straight season. And with two of three biggest obstacles now graduated, she’s also hoping the third time's the charm to punch her ticket into the finals. Novion finished her junior campaign with a 31-7 record and her only losses last season were to competitors who reached the Class 6A state semifinals in singles. Novion lost to eventual state champion Kinley VanPelt of Free State 6-2, 6-2 in the state semifinals. Then she lost 6-1, 6-1 to the 2021 6A state champ, Manhattan’s Jillian Harkin. The only other competitor to beat her last season was state runner-up Emily Chiasson of Blue Valley Northwest. Chiasson has defeated Novion in the regional finals each of the last two years and Harkin knocked out Novion in the state semifinals two years ago on her way to the state title. Chiasson and Harkin are both graduated as Novion tries to eclipse her third-place finish from her sophomore year.
 

HAYLEE OSNER, CONWAY SPRINGS
 
Osner enters her senior season as a three-time medalist in Class 3-2-1A, including an eighth-place finish last fall in her first state singles appearance. Osner posted a 17-13 record, winning her first two state matches to reach the quarterfinals, where she fell to regional champion Kyla Metro of Central Plains. Osner was third at her home regional behind Wichita Collegiate’s duo of Lara De Carvalho and Emma Mantovani. Osner won a regional title with Lucy Boyles as a freshman en route to an eighth-place state finish, then reached the 3-2-1A state final as a sophomore with her cousin, Loren May. They finished second to Collegiate’s Lily Conrad and Ella Graham.
 

 

 
LAUREN SANDSTROM AND EMILY SHEETZ, HAYDEN
 
After going 26-8 and placing seventh in doubles at the Class 4A state tournament in 2021 – a showing that began with an opening-match loss -- Sandstrom and Sheetz went into the 2022 state tournament as the No. 1 seed and resoundingly backed up that distinction. Sandstrom and Sheetz capped a 34-4 record with their first state championship. The Wildcat duo dropped only 13 games in four sets, beating Independence’s Brooklyn Mattix and Callie Schlorholtz 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals before downing Wichita Trinity’s Darcy Dunne and Sophia Majors 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match. Sandstrom and Sheetz helped Hayden claim the first team state championship in program history as well.
 

 
SHELBY SMITH, BLUE VALLEY NORTH

Smith returns for her junior campaign looking to build off of her fifth-place finishes from the last two years. Last season Smith reached the state quarterfinals for the second straight year, only to run into eventual Class 6A state champion Kinley VanPelt in the state quarterfinals. After losing that matchup 6-2, 6-2 against VanPelt, Smith navigated her way through the backside of the bracket to take fifth place. She beat Shawnee Mission East’s Ishya Bhavasar 9-1 in that fifth-place match, avenging a loss to her from earlier in the season. Smith finished with a 19-6 record on the year. Smith and Nancy Di Palo are the only two returners from the Mustangs’ second-place team finish.
 

 BRYNN STEVEN, BISHOP CARROLL

After dropping a three-set Class 5A final to Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Reagan Boleski as a sophomore, Steven rallied for a three-set victory over Seaman’s Lauren Sweeney last October for her first individual state title. Steven capped a 25-2 season with a methodical second set to square the match with Sweeney, then turned it on in winning the decisive set 6-0. It was her 70^th career singles victory and improved on her fourth-place finish as a freshman and the runner-up effort two years ago. She enters her senior season as part of Carroll’s strong singles duo with sophomore Logan Jagolinzer. All but one of Steven’s 15 career singles losses have come to top-three finishers at state.  
 

KINLEY VANPELT, FREE STATE
 
VanPelt blazed her way onto the preps scene last fall with a flawless sophomore campaign. She sported an undefeated record heading into the postseason, but had not faced many of the top competitors in a stacked field for Class 6A singles. Despite facing a bracket with three of the top finishers from 2021, VanPelt powered her way through to a state title and 29-0 record for the season. VanPelt became just the fifth Firebird to win a state title in girls tennis and the first since 2002. Now VanPelt is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her aunt Brittany Dietz (Carvalhido), who finished her high school career at Osborne with an undefeated record. VanPelt will not be able to match Carvalhido’s four state titles after VanPelt missed her freshman season with an injury. But she will have a chance to match her sister Keegan’s feat of being a three-time state medalist for the Firebirds.
 

SARAPHINA WAMBI, BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST
 
Wambi returns for her senior year following a fifth-place finish with her now-graduated teammate Lydia Peng. Wambi and Peng reached the state quarterfinals before running into eventual Class 6A state champions Bryson Langford and Greta Stechschulte. The Huskies duo lost 6-4, 6-1 in that one, but those four games in the first set made for the closest set for Langford and Stechschulte during the tournament. Wambi and Peng made their way through the backside of the bracket to earn a fifth-place finish and complete a 17-7 season. As a sophomore, Wambi took sixth in doubles with Peng.

 
KATIE WEISS, SACRED HEART
 
Weiss made a successful transition to singles play last year after being a two-time state placer in doubles with partner Isabella Matteucci as a freshman and sophomore, including a runner-up finish in 2020. Taking over as the Knights’ No. 1 singles player in 2022, Weiss finished with a 21-6 and as Class 3-2-1A state runner-up, falling to Wichita Collegiate’s Emma Mantovani 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in a three-set thriller in the state finals. Weiss had knocked off Mantovani’s teammate Lana De Carvalho 6-0, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and rallied to beat Larned’s Abigail Holt 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.