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Kennett girls tennis squad completes final preparations for postseason play, beats Poplar Bluff 9-0
Kennett's Laney Lack charges the net in a girls tennis match against Poplar Bluff Tuesday.
KENNETT - The 13-time defending district champion Kennett Indians are heating up with the start of the girls tennis playoffs less than a week away.
Kennett's Giselle Garcia completes a serve in a girls tennis match against Poplar Bluff Tuesday.
Kennett (8-3) beat Poplar Bluff 9-0 for its fourth straight regular-season victory Tuesday.
Poplar Bluff's Amelia Mirza competes in a girls tennis match at Kennett Tuesday.
“Right now we are doing a good job taking care of business on the courts,” Kennett longtime tennis coach Janet Hilburn said. “We performed very well in the SEMO Conference last week and have won our last four regular-season matches. I’m very pleased with how some players have stepped up as we’ve had a few players out recently. I couldn't be any prouder of how we have performed the last couple weeks.”
No. 2 seeded Kennett opens its four-team district at home Monday when it plays No. 3 seeded Dexter. Kennett beat Dexter 8-1 on Sept. 8 and beat Dexter 7-2 on Sept. 28.
“I hope we continue to have success against them,” Hilburn said. “We’ve beaten Dexter twice this year. It hard to beat a team three times but I hope we can find a way to get a win.”
On the horizon for Kennett if it does find its way past Dexter could be a road date with a team it has not defeated this season. No. 1 seeded Notre Dame would host Kennet on Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. in the district final if it beats No. 4 seeded Charleston in its semifinal and Kennett also advances to the championship. Notre Dame won the first meeting against Kennett 6-3 on Sept. 15.
“Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed for a reason and they’ve got some good players,” Hilburn said. “If we play them we will have to play our A Game if we are going to have a chance to beat them.”
Before team districst get underway Kennett will have the opportunity to host individual districts beginning Saturday. Kennett No. 1 singles player Anelle Harris, who was the 2019-20 Semoball Girls Tennis Athlete of the Year and advanced to the individual state tournament last season, is among the players slated to compete in the individual district Saturday.
“I think if we come ready to play we will have some success,” Hilburn said of the individual district. “We are starting early and it is supposed to be a cold morning. But we’ve had a good week in practice and played well in all of our matches so I’m ready to see what we’ve got.”
See the results from Kennett’s match against Poplar Bluff below:
Kennett 9, Poplar Bluff 0
VARSITY SINGLES
No. 1 - Anelle Harris (K) def. Clarissa Varner (PB) 8-0
No. 2 - Audrey Phillips (K) def. Sabrina Hurst (PB) 8-0
No. 3 - Malea Lack (K) def. Natalie Murphy (PB) 8-0
No. 4 - Mary Grace Collins (K) def. Demi Wisdom (PB) 8-1
No. 5 - Laney Lack (K) def. Bella Sifford (PB) 8-1
No. 6 - Giselle Garcia (K) def. Amelia Mirza (PB) 8-5
VARSITY DOUBLES
No. 1 - Harris-Phillips (K) def. Varner-Hurst (PB) 8-0
No. 2 - M. Lack-Collins (K) def. Murphy-Mirza (PB) 8-1
No. 3 - L. Lack-Garcia (K) def. Wisdom-Sifford (PB) 8-1