The girl’s varsity tennis team competed for the 6A state championship at the Bluejay Tennis Facility in Junction City last weekend.
After having two teams qualify for state, girls tennis coach, Jared Fluis, said he was proud of the team’s performance. Additionally, he mentioned the persistence he saw in his players throughout the tournament.
“The fact that they kept fighting and hanging on… it was just awesome to see them stick it through,” Fluis said.
One of the doubles teams was made up of sophomore Maryam Wambi and senior Saraphina Wambi. According to Maryam, playing with her older sister was a special moment for her.
“To have a partner that’s also your sister means a lot,” Maryam said. “Plus it’s her last year so I’ll probably never going to do that again. So getting to spend that extra time with her was really fun.”
Over the course of two days, Saraphina and Maryam won three games and lost one, ultimately placing second in the tournament after losing to Shawnee Mission East’s number-one doubles team in the finals.
“I was proud of myself because I made it to the state finals and I’m only a sophomore,” Maryam said. “I was also just happy to have played with Saraphina and to have made it this far because even though we didn’t win, it was still a big accomplishment.”
According to Fluid, watching Saraphina and Maryam play and improve together this season was special. Fluid said he noticed the sisters having fun and the smiles on their faces during matches, as well as seeing the sister’s communication strengthen throughout the season.
Additionally, senior Tindra Lind and sophomore Cammie Peng qualified for state. Throughout the two days of the tournament, the duo won three matches and lost three, ultimately placing 10th.
“I’m happy to have placed but I wish to [have made] it a bit further in the tournament, especially our last match. We lost that one, and I feel like we could have won if we just played our own game,” Lind said.
According to Maryam, the 40 mph winds had a challenging effect on the tournament.
“If it’s really windy, all of your shots can go out depending on the direction of where the wind’s blowing,” Maryam said. “So every shot that you hit, you have to be strategic [with] where you’re going to place it and how you’re going to hit it because you don’t want to lose the point because of the wind.”
Despite the weather conditions, BVNW ended up placing fourth in doubles, with the Wambi sisters taking second and Lind and Peng taking 10th. Maryam said she was still proud of how the teams did regardless of not placing first.
“To have made it this far even though we didn’t win, it is still a big accomplishment,” Maryam said. “I was just happy about the overall result of the season and how our team did.”
