After a postponement Saturday and weather delay Monday morning, the Class 5A Newton Regional in Valley Center finally got under way Monday afternoon. Bishop Carroll lived up to its top-5 state ranking by taking the team title by five points over rival and fellow 5A contender, Kapaun Mount Carmel.
Bishop Carroll's strength was in doubles where the Golden Eagles fielded the top two finishers. The top-seeded duo of Courtney Dold and Paige Lauer defeated teammates and No. 2-seeded Anna Gunther and Maddie Oxler, 6-3, 6-1 under the lights in one of the final matches of the day.
Carroll Head Coach Monica Peter said she was pleased to receive the top two doubles seeds and was glad to see her players live up to the seeding.
"We were so pleased that we got those two seeds and that meant the coaches respected our teams, but we wanted to prove ourselves," Peter said.
Also qualifying for the 5A state tournament from Bishop Carroll was singles player, Hillary Hicks. Hicks entered the tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, but a second-round loss to No. 7 Mel Mehelic of Andover erased Hicks' chances to capture a regional title. Hicks finished fifth, while Mehlic advanced to the championship against No. 1 seed, Maddie Schulte of Kapaun.
Mehelic's bid for a third upset of the day was disrupted by Schulte, who lived up to the top seed with a 6-2, 6-2 win. Schulte showed a lot of versatility to beat Mehelic in a match that was closer than the final score indicates.
In addition to Monday's regional championship, Schulte captured the Wichita City League title, Oct. 2. The junior has adjusted well to singles competition after playing doubles with her sister last year.
"I was really nervous for this tournament and I was glad I performed well," Schulte said. I'm happy that this win will help with seeding at state."
Going into state, Schulte said she hopes to be one of the top four seeds.
Andover sophomore, Mihelic, finished fourth in Class 4A as a freshman last season. She said this season's transition to 5A hasn't been easy, but she's pleased with how she played Monday.
Mihelic said she was seeded at No. 7 because she lost a few early-season matches to opponents who were beaten by some of the players in her region, giving regional opponents an indirect win over Mihelic.
"I'm the type of player, that throughout the season, I get better and better and my game just improves, just because I get more confidence and whatnot," Mihelic said.
Mihelic said her second-round win over Hicks propelled her to her goal of qualifying for her second-consecutive state tournament.
"I want to be a state qualifier all four years of high school," she said.
In addition to Mihelic, Andover's doubles team of Erin Cloprine and McKenzie Lair pulled a couple upsets to qualify for state. Cloprine and Lair finished sixth in doubles after entering the Newton Regional as the No. 13 seed.
Final Team Standings
1. Bishop Carroll, 17
2. Kapaun Mount Carmel, 12
3. Andover Central and Arkansas City, 9
5. Andover, 8
6. Winfield, 3
7. Newton, 0
5A State Qualifiers from Newton Regional
Singles:
1. Maddie Schulte, Kapaun Mount Carmel
2. Mel Mihelic, Andover
3. Mariah Vargas, Arkansas City
4. Amy Fugit, Andover Central
5. Hillary Hicks, Bishop Carroll
6. Anne VanSeckendorff, Winfield
Doubles:
1. Courtney Dold and Paige Lauer, Bishop Carroll
2. Anna Gunter and Maddie Oxler, Bishop Carroll
3. Carmen and Joahna Ramirez, Andover Central
4. Courtney Saia and Janelle Headrick, Arkansas City
5. Anne Le and Lindsey Wiexelman, Kapaun Mount Carmel
6. Erin Cloprine and McKenzie Lair, Andover
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