Park Hill South coach Ian Cunliff is in a position that not many other tennis coaches in the state of Missouri can say: he has a returning state champion.

Last fall Eva Kresovic won the state title as a sophomore, going undefeated along the way which landed her all-conference and all-district honors as well. Kresovic reached the state semifinals for the second year in a row, finishing third in 2016.

Also returning to the top of the varsity rotation is Chloe Norris, a junior who is now a two-time sectional qualifier. Norris partnered with her sister, Abby, to take second in the Class 2 District 15 tournament, a year after winning it.

File photo
Eva Kresovic won the Class 2 state singles championship last fall.

The Norris sisters were unable to return to state last year but did so in 2016. Chloe will be the lone Norris on the roster this fall as Abby graduated and is playing at Texas Wesleyan.

Other varsity players are expected to be seniors Claudio Chou, Julia Stephens and Annie Saunders and sophomore Nicki Matthews.

Cunliff noted the team goals this year include winning the conference, district and sectional titles.