Kaylee Kuehl and Livi Schneider claimed the regional doubles championship and earned a spot at the state tennis tournament as the Boone girls’ tennis team competed in the Class 1A regional individual qualifier Wednesday, September 17.
The first round of doubles were played Boone’s McHose Park; however, the tournament was moved to the Iowa State Tennis Facility in Ames due to rain.
Matches were played on ISU’s indoor and outdoor courts.
Boone’s top-seeded doubles team of Kaylee Kuehl and Livi Schneider lived up to their billing, cruising through the bracket to claim the regional championship and earn a spot at the Class 1A state tournament, Wednesday and Thursday, October 1 and 2, in Iowa City.
In the first round, they defeated a team from Webster City, 6-0, 6-1, and then Kuehl and Schneider defeated a team from Nevada, 6-0, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, they defeated a team from Saydel, 6-0, 6-0, and in the finals, Kuehl and Schneider defeated a team from Sioux City Heelan, 6-3, 6-2.
“Kaylee and Livi played flawless tennis in taking home the regional doubles title,” said head coach Shawn Latimer. “They’re headed to state and earned it every step of the way.”
Boone’s second doubles team, Claire Hardinger and Juliana Lutz, faced a tough draw against the No. 3 seed from Sioux City Heelan.
They won the first set but fell in a tight three-set battle, 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (7).
Their opponents went on to face Kuehl and Schneider in the final and finished as regional runners-up, also qualifying for state.
“Claire and Juliana started off hot, winning the first set,” Latimer said. “They ended up losing a tough battle in the third set.”
In singles, Ally Thompson, the No. 4 seed, had a strong showing.
In the first round, she defeated Chara Chappel (Nevada), 6-3, 6-3, and in the quarterfinals, Thompson defeated Ella Hill (North Polk), 7-5, 7-6 (0).
In the semifinals she lost to No. 1 seed Charlotte Schwabe (Carroll Kuemper Catholic), 1-6, 0-6, and in the third-place match, Thompson lost to Aila Friis (Harlan), 0-6, 1-6.
“Ally had a great day finishing fourth in a tough singles draw,” Latimer said.
Olivia Conlin also impressed in singles.
In the first round, she defeated Anja Tjernagel (Ballard), 6-3, 6-2, and in the quarterfinals: Lost to eventual champion Harika Cakinberk (North Polk), 2-6, 3-6
“Olivia had the crowd buzzing,” Latimer said. “She pushed the eventual regional champion to the limits after a solid first-round win.”
Boone will host Grundy Center Saturday, September 27, at 10 a.m. at McHose Park in the first round of the Class 1A, Region 6 team qualifier.
Jill Lutz reporting
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