Playing singles first in hopes of avoiding a potential weather conflict, Park Hill South didn’t drop a game in its postseason opener.
The Panthers scored a quick 5-0 shutout of Oak Park in a Class 2 District 15 semifinal Tuesday, Sept. 26 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo. Eva Kresovic, a sophomore all-state singles player, returned from a spell of time off due to injury and won 6-0, 6-0.
Abby Norris (No. 2), Chloe Norris (No. 3), Annie Saunders (No. 4) and Claudia Chou (No. 5) were the other winners for Park Hill South. Leah Gehrke, the No. 6, led 6-0, 1-0 when the fifth victory was finished.
After closing the regular season with a 6-3 win over Blue Springs South, Park Hill South improved to 14-3 overall entering the scheduled district championship vs. St. Teresa’s Academy, scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Park Hill South High School. The Panthers will be looking to reach the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season.
Last season, Park Hill South beat St. Teresa’s Academy in the district final, and the Panthers won the only matchup between the two this season 7-2.
The Class 2 District 15 individual tournament will be Saturday, Sept. 30 in Kansas City, Mo. Kresovic is the defending singles champion, while the Norris sisters were also district champions. Both individual entries advanced on to the Class 2 Missouri State Tennis Championships.
St. Teresa’s Academy 5, Park Hill 0
The Trojans led in a pair of singles matches but were shut out in a Class 2 District 15 semifinal Tuesday, Sept. 26 in Kansas City, Mo.
Second-seeded St. Teresa’s swept doubles and captured the two wins necessary to finish the dual. Park Hill freshman No. 1 Maisie Markowitz and junior No. 2 Kansas Dreps both led in the second set of their matchups that were not finished.
Park Hill finished the season 8-8 overall with a youthful lineup that also includes sophomore Annie McFee in the top three.
Park Hill 5, North Kansas City 0
The third-seeded Trojans were dominant in reaching the semifinals with a shutout Monday, Sept. 25 at Barry Park in Kansas City, Mo.
Dreps and McFee posted a shutout at No. 1 doubles, and Park Hill led in all six singles matches when the first two were completed to end the dual. The Trojans reached the semifinals for the sixth straight year since winning their last district title in 2012.
OTHER DUALS
Blue Springs 5, Park Hill 4
The Trojans settled for 3-3 in Suburban Conference Gold Division play, closing out the league slate with another tight loss Tuesday, Sept. 19 in Blue Springs, Mo.
Blue Springs scored two dominant wins in doubles to take the advantage before the team’s split three single matches. Lauren Steckelberg (No. 4), Lily Cota (No. 5) and Casey Lasater (No. 6) were all winners for Park Hill in the bottom half of the lineup, and Steckelberg and Dreps were the Trojans’ doubles winner at No. 2.