15 CLASS 5A GIRLS TENNIS PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2024
 

 

LIZA DUGAN AND BROOKE STEVEN, BISHOP CARROLL

Dugan and Steven complemented teammate Brynn Steven's successful title defense in Class 5A singles last season with an eighth-place state finish in doubles. Dugan, now a junior, and the sophomore Steven posted a 23-12 record in their first season together, qualifying for state with a fourth-place finish in the challenging Arkansas City regional. The returning Greater Wichita Athletic League champions, along with junior Logan Jagolinzer, who took fifth at state in singles two years ago, give the Golden Eagles a solid nucleus moving forward.
 

RYLEE FRYE, MAIZE

Frye enters her senior season as a three-time state qualifier with 69 career singles victories for the Eagles, placing 10^th in Class 5A in 2022 and ninth a year ago. She earned her second straight Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division I singles crown last October, rallying past Maize South's Maggie Harrison 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Frye dropped a consolation bracket match to Harrison at state, but bounced back to win her last two matches to cap a 26-11 season. Frye finished 24-7 in singles as a sophomore and 19-13 as a freshman.
 

ELIZABETH GADDIS, ANDOVER
 
Andover graduated Class 5A doubles champions Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker, but Gaddis and partner Emma Jittawait made plenty of noise as the Trojans' No. 2 duo. They finished third at state to help Andover win its third consecutive team title, making their title-winning teammates rally past them in a three-set semifinal. Gaddis, a senior, may split with Jittawait this season, but coach Stephen Alexander could also keep them together after their 20-8 campaign. Either way, Gaddis, with a 62-18 career record, figures to play a key role in the Trojans' quest for a four-peat.
 

MOLLY GADDIS, ANDOVER
 
After earning a bit of personal redemption at the state tournament last October, Gaddis enters her senior season as a possible contender for the Class 5A singles title. A three-time state medalist, Gaddis slipped from fourth in 5A as a freshman to 11^th as a sophomore. But she rebounded with a career-best third-place finish, helping Andover win its third straight team title with her 28-5 record. Gaddis, who has a 74-26 career mark, and teammate Mia Jaramillo give the Trojans a strong 1-2 punch in singles.
 

JENSEN GIBBS, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST
 
Gibbs entered her junior season last year with high hopes following two straight six-place finishes to start her high school career. She elevated her game as she reached the postseason with only two losses on her resume. Her losses were both against a one-loss Sarah Yan of Blue Valley West, who would go on to win the 6A state title. Still, her tremendous resume did not position Gibbs as a frontrunner heading into a loaded bracket for 5A singles. Before she could even take a shot at the two higher seeded players, Bishop Carroll's Brynn Steven and Shawnee Heights Jette Glasenapp, Gibbs would suffer a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Emporia's Kali Keough. Gibbs and Keough already have quite a history since the latter joined the high school field two years ago. Gibbs avenged a regional semifinal loss to Keough in 2022 by defeating her on the backside of the state bracket. Gibbs also beat Keough early on last season, only for the results to flip at state. Despite the setback, Gibbs was still able to successfully navigate the backside of the bracket for the third straight year. This time, she capped things off by winning her fifth-place match as she defeated Andover's Mia Jaramillo.
 

 
MOLLY GORMAN, SEAMAN

Gorman teamed up with Katie Krummins for her first two high school seasons and the two were a more than formidable duo. After posting a 25-5 mark in 2022, Gorman and Krummins improved to 26-4 last year despite missing the first two meets of the season because of an injury. Gorman and Krummins captured the Topeka City doubles title, knocking off two-time 4A champions Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz of Hayden in the finals and then followed that up with a Class 5A regional title as well – their second straight. After falling in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament, they settled for a seventh-place state finish. With Krummins having graduated, Gorman will move to singles this year and gives Seaman a strong 1-2 punch along with returning sophomore Emma Sweeney, who placed 11^th at state in singles last year.
 

MAGGIE HARRISON, MAIZE SOUTH
 
Experienced and battle-tested, Harrison will try to improve on a 27-10 record during her junior season that yielded an eighth-place singles finish in Class 5A. Perhaps more impressive was Harrison's fourth-place finish in a loaded Arkansas City regional in which she knocked off 2022 state place Logan Jagolinzer of Bishop Carroll just to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Jagolinzer's teammate and eventual 5A champion Brynn Steven. One of two returning state qualifiers for the Mavericks, Harrison enters her fourth varsity season with a 68-39 career record.
 

MIA JARAMILLO, ANDOVER
 
Jaramillo's highlights in a 28-7 sophomore season included an Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division II singles title and a sixth-place finish at the 5A state tournament that helped the Trojans capture their third consecutive team championship. She finished second to eventual 5A champion Brynn Steven in the Arkansas City regional, conceding in the opening set by injury default. Jaramillo, who finished fourth in 5A as a freshman, fell to teammate Molly Gaddis in last year's state quarterfinals, but her two consolation bracket victories gave her 50 at the midpoint of her career.
 

 EMMA JITTAWAIT, ANDOVER
 
Jittawait, a junior, is part of a deep pool of doubles players for Andover. She teamed with Elizabeth Gaddis to finish third in Class 5A last season, claiming that spot after a three-set semifinal loss to teammates and eventual champions Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker, who have since graduated. Coach Stephen Alexander could keep last year's No. 2 doubles team in place or mix them with a group of returnees who includes Nadia Kaewsai, who took fifth with Hannah Pappademos at state in 2022, and Ada Tantemsomboon, who missed last season due to injury. Jittawait was 27-8 in doubles and 4-0 in singles last year, and has a 52-12 career record.
 

 KALI KEOUGH, EMPORIA
 
After posting a solid 25-11 singles record and placing eighth at the Class 5A state tournament as a freshman in 2023, Keough not only avoided a sophomore slump but backed it up with another strong showing last year. She captured the Centennial League No. 1 singles championship and then followed that up with a regional title as well. After falling in the state quarterfinals as a freshman, Keough made the semifinals before dropping a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 marathon to Shawnee Heights' Jette Glasenapp. She wound up taking fourth at state after a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Andover's Molly Gaddis in the third place match.
 

CAROLINE KMETZ, ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
Caroline partnered up Holli Kalny, a senior who already had doubles success the previous year with her own senior teammate in Frankie Book. That duo won a regional doubles title before finishing eighth at state. Kmetz and Kalny replicated that regional title and followed up with an even better finish at state. The duo reached the semifinals on the way taking fourth place and holding a 23-12 record for the season. Now Kmetz will be one of the leaders of a program with three of the six players in their state contingent returning as juniors this season. Kmetz could partner up with her former partner's younger sister, Lilly Kalny, join back up with her freshman year partner Delaney Neuer, or join Neuer in the singles bracket.
 

ADDISON AND MALLORY RENFRO, SALINA CENTRAL
 
The Renfros and their triplet sister, Claire, have become fixtures in the Mustangs' lineup, helping Central finish second to Andover in Class 5A last season. Addison and Mallory won their home regional en route to a fifth-place finish at state, where they capped a 37-5 season after finishing ninth at state in 2022. The regional victory came against Claire and her partner, Kinsley Foth, who tore an ACL during the match. All are back for a final run as seniors, with Addison entering the fall with 91 career victories while Mallory has 87.
 

SYDNEY SCHUMAKER, MAIZE SOUTH

A shift to singles is in the cards this season for Schumaker, a junior who partnered with now-graduated Madelyn Fellows to advance all the way to the Class 5A doubles final in 2023. Qualifying for state as the No. 6 seed, Schumaker and Fellows navigated through an upset-heavy side of the bracket before falling to Andover's Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker in the championship. After going 25-6 with a league doubles title and 3-2 in singles last fall, a change to singles would give the Mavericks a strong 1-2 punch with returning senior Maggie Harrison.