The Boone girls’ tennis team put together an impressive weekend, winning both the Tulip City Tussle on Saturday, August 22 and its home invitational Friday, August 21.
Boone claimed the Tulip City Tussle team title Saturday, which was played at multiple sites in Pella, finishing with 149 points to beat Fairfield (119) and Spencer (113) in a field that featured several of the state’s top programs.
The tournament victory was especially noteworthy given the strength of the competition.
“What a day! To win the team championship in the biggest invite of the year with multiple top 10 teams is a great accomplishment,” head coach Shawn Laimer said.
Leading the way was Maiya Phanchantraurai, who captured the singles championship.
Phanchantraurai defeated two opponents from Decorah along with competitors from Oskaloosa, Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Ottumwa on her way to the title.
“Maiya announced her presence to the high school tennis world by dismantling everyone in her path and beating multiple state qualifiers on her way to the singles title,” Latimer said.
Boone’s top doubles team of Kaylee Kuehl and Livi Schneider also advanced to the championship match.
The duo earned victories over two teams from Pella, as well as teams from Pella Christian and Spencer, before finishing as runners-up.
“Kaylee and Livi put in another strong performance and came up just a few points short in the finals in what was a rematch with Pella and the match could potentially come at state,” Latimer said.
The Toreadors received a contribution from Claire Hardinger, who battled through six matches to finish ninth in the singles bracket.
Hardinger posted a 5-1 record, defeating two players from Pella and one each from Spencer, Clear Lake and Fort Dodge St. Edmond.
“Claire put in a day’s work in playing six matches and fought off cramps in the last few points of her sixth match of the day,” Stevenson said. “She went 5-1 and finished ninth out of 30 entries that included seven state qualifiers.”
Boone’s doubles team of Olivia Conlin and Harper Kuehl added points by going 3-2.
The pair recorded wins over teams from Pella Christian, Shenandoah and Fairfield.
“Olivia and Harper went 3-2 on the day and were just a few points here and there from making a splash,” Latimer said.
The Tulip City Tussle standings were:
- Boone 149
- Fairfield 119
- Spencer 113
- Sergeant Bluff-Luton 105
- Pella 102.5
- Decorah 61.5
- Mount Vernon 42.5
- Ottumwa 28
- Clear Lake 16
- Fort Dodge St. Edmond 12
- Clarinda 10.5
- Oskaloosa 8.5
- Pella Christian 8
- Aplington-Parkersburg 4
- Shenandoah 3
The championship came one day after Boone completely dominated its own invitational on Friday at McHose Park.
The Toreadors finished with 175 points ahead of Council Bluffs St. Albert (102), Des Moines Lincoln (57) and Webster City (51).
The Toreadors swept all six varsity flights, winning every singles and doubles division.
“For the first time in invite history, Boone swept every flight. We played 18 matches and won all 18,” Latimer said.
In singles, Phanchantraurai won Flight 1, Hardinger captured Flight 2 and Rozzie Stevenson claimed the Flight 3 title.
Boone’s doubles teams also swept their divisions, with Kaylee Kuehl and Schneider winning Flight 1, Conlin and Harper Kuehl taking Flight 2, and the team of Michaella Anderson and Halle Bailey securing Flight 3.
“It was fun to watch all of them cheer each other on all day from match to match to accomplish this feat.”
Complete results from both tournaments were previously posted to kwbg.com
Boone (2-1) will travel to Newton (0-2) for a dual meet tonight.
Jill Lutz reporting
About the Author
