Enid High Tennis has a storied history, with several State titles, and for the Enid High Girl’s team this year, a state title or placement is a legitimate possibility. High School tennis teams have four “positions” consisting of 6 players, #1 Singles, #2 Singles, #1 Doubles and #2 Doubles. To compete for a State title, you generally have to be strong at all positions, and this year is shaping up to be special.
#1 Singles player, Junior Alexa Garcia has started off the year strong. Coach Wade Rogers says “Alexa has been playing great tennis. She lost in the Enid tournament finals to last year’s state runner-up in a tiebreaker, so she can really compete.” Garcia won the PCO tournament, finished 2nd at Muskogee and 1st at Regionals, showing she is one of the State’s best.
#2 Singles, Freshman Hailey Hibbets has also been strong. She won the Jr. High state title last year as an 8th grader and has fit right in on the high school team. Coach Rogers says “Hailey has been playing remarkably. She also lost to a state runner-up (in #2 singles) in a tie-break in the Enid tournament finals, showing she can compete with anybody.” Hibbetts also won the PCO and Muskogee tournaments and finished 2nd at Broken Arrow and Regionals.
#1 Doubles consists of Seniors Taylor Stotts and Krystal Archer. According to Coach Rogers “This is the first time since Jr. High Taylor and Crystal have played doubles together. They are playing really hard. They seem to be excited about it and I see some really good things out of them.” After finishing 5th at the PCO tournament, 4th at Enid, 4th in Muskogee and 4th at Regionals, they are poised to do some damage at the state tournament.
#2 Doubles are returning state qualifiers from last year, Senior Cheyenne Gill and Junior Madison Nickels who hope to improve their finish from last year and place this year. They have also placed in several tournaments, including 3rd at Regionals.
The first week of May will be the Regional and State tournament. The top four players from each Regional make the State tournament, so every player is playing this weekend, giving Enid a good chance to compete for the championship, or at least the “podium” which is finishing in the top 5. Whatever the result this year, it is really great to see the current success from the Enid High lady tennis team!
UPDATE: All six players qualified for, and competed at, the State Championship this weekend. Garcia won her first match, but lost to eventual champion Alice Hsu from Edmond North. Garcia won two and lost one more to finish 7th. Freshman Haley Hibbetts won her first two matches before also falling to an Edmond North player, Victoria Ricaurte-Cabasnden in a 3 sets. Hibbetts bounced back, winning the 3rd place match to make the podium. Both doubles teams fell in the first round and lost in the consolation matches and were not able to place. Team wise, Enid finished 9th out of 16 teams that made the State tournament, still a great accomplishment out of all the teams in 6A.
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