Last year’s fourth-place finish in the singles draw at the Class 5A state tournament was an eye-opening experience for Emma Sweeney.
 
Not just in the level of competition she ran into with the Seaman standout falling 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals to eventual state champion Molly Gaddis of Andover and then 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Gaddis’ Trojan teammate Mia Jaramillo in the third-place match.
 
But also in the potential she had going forward.
 
“Last year when I was in the semis, I was kind of like, ‘What’s even going on?’” Sweeney said. “I did not expect to make it that far. But after the fact, I realized it was something I was capable of and that really motivated me.”
 
Sweeney spent the offseason working to transform a game that was already pretty solid to begin with as last year’s fourth-place state finish capped a 29-5 season. The Viking junior is off to a 13-1 start this season, improving to that mark by capturing the No. 1 singles title at Thursday’s Topeka City Invitational.
 
Sweeney was nothing short of dominant, winning all three matches by an 8-0 count, including a blaniking of Topeka High’s Madeline Deters in the championship match. The city crown was her first, denied last year by three-time Class 4A state singles champion Ainzley Zulueta of Hayden and in 2023 by Class 5A singles state runner-up Jette Glasenapp of Shawnee Heights.
 
“It’s pretty big for me because there are a lot of good girls playing tennis in Topeka,” Sweeney said. “I’m proud. I put in a lot of work over the break and I changed a lot of different things to become a more aggressive player and just use more energy. I changed my mindset a lot and became a more positive player. And that’s really helped me grow in my game.”
 

 
The biggest change Sweeney made in the offseason involved where she trained and who she trained with. After growing up honing her game at Topeka Country Club and Genesis, Sweeney made the move to the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence.
 
Working primarily with tennis pros Dan Woestendick, Alexis Czapinski and Jared Ward, she began to develop in the areas she felt she needed to improve to take her game to the next level.
 
“I was looking for new competition and just a new point of view on my game,” she said. “I feel I’ve definitely gotten that and it’s really helped me a lot. I used to be more conservative and wait for my opponents to make a mistake. But now I’m attacking and looking to find winners and play more aggressive.”
 
Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said there was a noticeable difference in Sweeney when she returned this fall for her junior season.
 
“She’s just so much more confident in her strokes,” Robinson said. “She’s very, very confident in her shots. She’s striking the ball better and when the point gets long, in the past, she maybe tried to finish it too quick. Now she’s a little bit more patient in long rallies and has a few more weapons. Her serve’s got a little more pace. She’s gotten some great coaching and has seen some great results and that helps her confidence as well.”
 
Sweeney won her first 10 matches of the season in dominant fashion before suffering her only defeat in the finals of Wednesday’s Olathe South Invitational. Cruising into the finals with three straight 8-0 wins, Sweeney ran into Andover’s Jaramillo, who took an 8-5 victory in their rematch of last year’s third-place state match.
 
“That just pushes me and encourages me to go out and work harder to get better,” Sweeney said. “She played really good and I thought I played pretty good too. I think it just comes down to who can be more aggressive and take control of the points sooner.”
 
If that loss isn’t motivation enough for Sweeney, she has some extra drive that’s been with her since she hit high school. As middle schooler, she watched older sister Lauren experience the ecstasy and agony a state tournament can provide.
 
Lauren captured a state doubles title with partner Grace Unruh in 2021. The following year, Lauren moved to singles after Unruh had graduated and fell just short of adding a state title in that draw as well, winning the first set in the finals against Bishop Carroll’s Brooke Steven 6-4 before dropping the next two, 6-4, 6-0 to settle for a runner-up showing.
 
Seeing her older sister come that close to a state crown, Emma would like nothing more than to get that title. For the both of them.
 
“She’s like my best friend,” she said. “Seeing her go through that sadness just makes me want to win it for both of us.”
 
Sweeney’s No. 1 singles title at Thursday’s city meet helped Seaman capture its first team crown since 2015 and the first under Robinson. The Vikings also got a title from Molly Gorman at No. 2 singles while the No. 1 doubles team of Peyton Henry and Cami Lux and the No. 2 doubles team of Candace Speer and Kaylyn Heibsch each finished runner-up to Rural teams.
 

 
Seaman finished with 32 points, four ahead of runner-up Washburn Rural.
 
“It means a ton,” Sweeney said of the team title. “We talk about it every year and have always been this close. Coach really wanted it because he’s never won city since he’s been coaching. It just means so much.”
 
Indeed, the last two years, Seaman had been in position to capture the team crown only to see the title slip away on the outcome of the final matches on the court. Not only that, but those decisive matches were lost in tiebreakers.
 
To finally breakthrough was part joy and part relief for Robinson.
 
“A couple breaks here or there and it could have been a lot closer,” Robinson said of this year’s title. “We’re happy and this is what our goal was at the beginning of the year, to win city. It got to the point where we didn’t want to talk about it and jinx ourselves because we were so pumped up.
 
“We’ve been snake-bitten in the past and were so close where it came down to points, not games, tiebreakers to decide the city. It meant a lot to the girls. They’ve put in a lot of work.”
 

OTHER TENNIS STANDOUTS

• Chapman won the title at the Clay Center Invitational in dominating fashion as all four Irish entries went 4-0 on the day. Avery Baer and Carmen Courtois were first at No. 1 doubles while Addalynn Casey and Cora Merritt were the No. 2 doubles champs. Josie Baer and Clara Gfeller swept the singles titles and as a team the Irish were 113-15 in games played at the meet.
• Washburn Rural finished runner-up at the Topeka City Meet on the strength of sweeping the No. 1 and 2 doubles titles. Julia Katzer and Halle Owen took the No. 1 doubles title with an 8-3 win over Seaman’s Peyton Henry and Cami Lux, while Alzah Chedzoy and Annie Henderson won the No. 2 title with an 8-3 win over Seaman’s Candace Speer and Kaylyn Heibsch.
• Shawnee Heights’ Ashlyn Vanderpool, a freshman, is 8-2 between varsity and JV meets after having never played tennis before joining the program this fall.

 

 
VOLLEYBALL STANDOUTS

• Silver Lake continued its strong start to the 2025 season, capturing the title at the Rossville Invitational to improve to 20-1 on the season. The Eagles beat Holton for the third time in five days in the finals after knocking off Ottawa in the semifinals. Jaiden Wise led the Eagles with 47 kills at the tourney while Paige Winsor had 39, Paige Heiman 23 and Kinley Weber 19. Kylie Hanni had 127 assists and Jaylie Whitehead had 48 digs, Winsor 34 and Wise 31.

 

• Marais des Cygnes Valley claimed the title at the Hartford Invitational for the second straight year, going 5-0 with only one match going three sets, a 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 win over Mission Valley. Emily Criqui led the Trojans with 61 kills, 60 digs and 16 aces while Colbie Cormode had 16 kills and 5 blocks, Akyra Traver had 29 kills, 56 digs and 9 aces, Gracen Stahl had 20 kills, 8 blocks and 6 aces and Kadenze Masenthin had 75 assists and 6 aces.
• Rossville’s Nora Burdiek picked up her 1,000th career kill at the Rossville Invitational, helping the Bulldawgs to a win over Holton.
• Maur Hill’s Capri Koechner has 231 kills so far this season, averaging 5.1 per set. She is nearing the 1,000 kills mark and also has added 185 digs this season.