The tennis team won third place in State at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo., on Oct. 13, the first time the team has made it to State in five years.
“It’s the best feeling,” senior Lexi Ecker said. “All our hard work has finally paid off.”
The girls upset Lafayette, the top team in their District, 5-4 to become District champions. They then knocked off another top team in St. Joseph’s 5-3 and defeated Cor Jesu 5-0 to win Sectionals.
“Since we had the hardest path to State of any other team, getting to State feels even more special,” senior Elena Wilner said.
Wilner cites the team’s chemistry as one of the key aspects that allowed them to go so far this year.
“We have a great team dynamic this year where we truly love and care about each other more than results and winning,” Wilner said.
This dynamic is exemplified through the incorporation of freshman Michelle Korenfeld into the predominantly upperclassman team.
“I think the biggest thing I improved was my confidence, knowing that as the new freshman I have so much support and encouragement from all of my teammates,” Korenfeld said.
Ecker notes that the attending fans this year have also contributed a lot to the team’s success.
“We have never had fans before,” Ecker said. “They have made the atmosphere so much better, and we have more fans than the home teams.”
In the State tournament, the girls lost to eventual runner-up Rock Bridge 0-5 in the semi-finals and then shut out Central Springfield 5-0 in the third-place game.
In addition to the team competition, Wilner and her doubles partner, senior Rebecca Davis, also competed in the State tournament for the individual competition on Oct 14-15.
“Individual was a personal goal for me to get to State,” Davis said. “Since Elena and I went freshmen year and I lost in Sectionals to get there the past two years, it was amazing to go senior year.”
The partners defeated Jefferson City in the first round, lost to Notre Dame in the second round, then won three matches in a row (including against Lindbergh, the 2015 State champions), en route to a fifth place State finish.
