Manhattan tennis finishes third at Emporia Invite | Sports

Manhattan High’s girls tennis team put together a balanced performance Saturday, finishing third at the Emporia Invite against a field that included Mill Valley, Andover, Emporia, St. James Academy, and Derby.

The Indians finished with strong results throughout the lineup, with both singles players placing in the top five and both doubles teams earning top-nine finishes.

Sally Kastner led Manhattan in No. 1 singles, finishing fourth with a 2-2 record. Sutton Weixelman added a fifth-place finish at No. 2 singles after going 3-1 on the day.

Weixelman entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed but worked her way into the top five, continuing a stretch of improvement after competing at No. 1 singles at the Topeka Seaman tournament earlier in the week.

“She can change the pace of the ball,” Manhattan coach Tony Ingram said. “She can slice it really well. She also does a pretty good job with her forehand and ground strokes. Her competitiveness is there, and she’s learning as she’s going here at singles a little bit.”

Ingram said the experience Weixelman gained earlier in the week helped give her added confidence Saturday.

“She’s growing, she’s improving, and she’s staying consistent,” Ingram said. “But she’s a competitor, and that’s half the battle there at that singles spot.”

Kastner, meanwhile, continued to show her consistency from the baseline. Ingram pointed to her conditioning and ability to stay in long rallies as two of her strengths.

Kastner was seeded fifth entering the tournament and finished fourth.

“She just stays consistent,” Ingram said. “She’s a long-ball hitter. She’s going to be there and rally back and forth, and her conditioning is actually really, really great.”

Ingram also noted Kastner’s ability to fight back in matches when she fell behind, something he said demonstrates how much she has developed as a player.

“She’s maturing as a tennis player, and as a senior that’s expected of her. She’s doing really great, and I was really proud of her and happy for her to get that fourth-place finish.”

Manhattan’s doubles teams faced a different challenge Saturday, with the Indians entering the tournament without their usual No. 1 doubles pairing.

Sophie Karr and Grace Koo moved into the No. 1 doubles spot and finished eighth with a 1-3 record. Emory Meusborn and Regan Berish took over at No. 2 doubles and finished ninth despite also going 3-1.

Meusborn and Berish endured a difficult opening matchup before bouncing back and winning three consecutive matches.

“I was really proud of their resilience,” Ingram said. “The way they bounced back and went ahead and hung on in a tiebreaker and ended up going 3-1 on the day, which is a really good showing in a fairly tough field.”

Karr and Koo’s record did not fully reflect their performance, according to Ingram. The pair won its opening-round match in a tiebreaker before moving into the top eight, where the competition became tougher, including a matchup against the tournament’s No. 2 seed.

Ingram said the experience should benefit the young doubles team moving forward.

“They really took a learning mindset to it, and I loved their energy,” Ingram said. “You could hear their voices throughout the court, cheering for each other and everything. That energy was something good.”

The Indians’ third-place finish also reinforced Ingram’s belief that Manhattan has more depth than perhaps initially expected.

With both the varsity and JV competing at the tournament, the long day also provided an opportunity to see how players handled different situations and maintained their focus throughout the tournament.

“We talked about being able to stay consistent and stay focused no matter what the score was, whether you’re up big or down big,” Ingram said. “I think it shows there’s a little more depth on our team. I knew there was, I thought there was, and it just helped prove that there’s good depth on this team.”

The JV squad also finished third, with Emily Espinoza taking third at No. 1 singles. Manhattan’s two JV doubles teams both finished third, with Audrey Alberg and Elliette Hailey placing at No. 1 doubles and Brylee Sanneman and Juna Althoff finishing third at No. 2 doubles.

“I really enjoy it because it allows me to watch some of the junior varsity players play,” Ingram said. “Also, those junior varsity players get to watch varsity players, not just ours, but other teams, and be a part of a varsity tournament. That’s a great experience for our younger players.”

Manhattan returned to competition Tuesday when it hosted a home quad at the new Cico Park tennis courts. Sabetha, Maryville and Washburn Rural will join the Indians.