After traveling to Glendale and winning 7-2 on Wednesday, Sept. 29, the Lady Liberator Tennis team hosted the Bolivar Varsity tournament on Thursday, Sept. 30. With postseason play coming up soon, the Liberators are looking to improve and prepare.
Bolivar took home second place overall, and had multiple individual participants place in their flights. Senior Jillian Horner earned a first place finish in flight one singles. Senior Julia Beehler got third place in flight two singles, and sophomore Chelsea Shipley got third place in flight three singles.
Juniors Kayla Goodman and Adelyn Seay earned first place in flight one doubles, with seniors Cailin Asby and Elyse Thompson also getting first place in flight three doubles.
Juniors Jaylee Campbell and Olivia Vernon rounded out doubles play with a third place finish in flight two doubles.
Head coach Nathan Rothdiener's goal was to improve going into the tournaments, and he believes they did just that. “There were a lot of really good matches and I'm happy with the way the girls played,” said Rothdiener. “As long as we are getting better, and I can honestly say that we got better today.”
“This just gets us ready for the postseason,” said Rothdiener. “We have conference play coming up on Tuesday and it's a really good conference! We need to be ready to play and look to defend our title.”
Bolivar tennis won the Ozark Mountain Conference and their district last season. This year, Bolivar will be hosting individual and team district competitions, but they have not yet matched up with any district opponents. Harrisonville currently leads the charge with a record of 10-0 and no common opponents with Bolivar.
The Liberators have won six straight district championships, and have made it to the final four in four of those years. However, Bolivar is not focused on the past. They have tough competition in the Ozark Mountain Conference tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with individual districts following on Thursday, Oct. 8 at home.
They will finish up the regular season on Monday, Oct. 5, taking on Lebanon at home.
