Firebirds sweep LHS quad with strong showing from doubles teams

Free State High School's Ali Dodd, left, and Keegan Van Pelt high five each other after a point against Olathe South High School's number one doubles team on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017 at the Lawrence High School Tennis Center.

Teaming up in doubles for the second straight year, Free State High junior Gabby Gorman and sophomore Anna Peard showed off their experience Tuesday.

Gorman and Peard posted a 3-0 record at the Lawrence High quadrangular, which included an 8-6 win over the No. 2 doubles team from Shawnee Mission South. Their strong performance helped the Firebirds earn team victories over Lawrence, SM South and Olathe South.

One area that Gorman wanted to improve in the offseason was at the net. When she became more comfortable with volleys, combining with one of Peard’s strengths, it only makes it tougher for opponents.

“They are a good pair,” Free State coach Aaron Clark said. “They work well together, communicate well together. It kind of makes my job a lot easier because they are recognizing what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong and correcting it.”

Gorman said she trained with Peard throughout the summer, giving them extra experience alongside each other.

“We both know each other,” Gorman said. “We know how we play. We’re good at communicating with each other. We just mix well.”

Free State’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Ali Dodd and freshman Keegan Van Pelt went undefeated Tuesday, only dropping a total of four games.

Clark said it’s hard to tell how freshmen and seniors are going to react when they are paired together, but Dodd and Van Pelt have “meshed well.” Van Pelt features a strong forehand while Dodd is consistent on her groundstrokes and serve.

“We’re a good doubles team together,” Van Pelt said. “I feel like we’re both really good at the net and always hit smart shots.”

Free State’s Andie Veeder posted a 3-0 record at No. 2 singles, while Kate Piper earned an 8-2 win over Lawrence’s Chisato Kimura in No. 1 singles.

Lawrence’s girls tennis team, which went 0-3 as a team, saw plenty of positive signs from freshman Bella Kirkwood at No. 2 singles.

Kirkwood won two of her three matches, including a tiebreaker victory over SM South’s No. 2 singles player. With her athleticism, Kirkwood frustrates opponents with her ability to reach shots from all over the court.

“I wish I would’ve been attacking the ball a little bit more but I think I played pretty well,” said Kirkwood, who suffered an 8-3 loss to Veeder.

Kirkwood started playing tennis in the seventh grade and LHS coach Chris Marshall is impressed by her understanding of the game and how she anticipates shots.

“When she started the season, she still had an intermediate racquet,” Marshall said. “She’s only been playing with real racquets for about two weeks. She’s come a long way.”

Among the rest of Lawrence’s team, which includes doubles pairings of Mia Waters/Chloe Thornton and Caitlyn Kliem/Malka Hampton, Marshall was pleased with their play, even if it didn’t show up on the scoreboard.

“We happened to play better tennis today,” Marshall said. “The problem was the competition was a lot better. When we did make a mistake, usually the competition makes you pay.”

Lawrence High tennis quad

Tuesday at Lawrence High

Shawnee Mission South 3, Lawrence 1

No. 1 singles — Kylie Hance, SMS, def. Chisato Kimura, LHS, 8-1.

No. 2 singles — Bella Kirkwood, LHS, def. Katie Ball, SMS, 8-7 (3).

No. 1 doubles — Caroline Mack/Mena Haas, SMS, def. Mia Waters/Chloe Thornton, LHS, 8-6.

No. 2 doubles — Mary Novack/Madison Hanna, SMS, def. Caitlynn Kliem/Malka Hampton, LHS, 8-3.

Free State 3, Olathe South 1

No. 1 singles — Cady Lynn, OS, def. Kate Piper, FS, 8-2.

No. 2 singles — Andie Veeder, FS, def. Lauren Evans, OS, 8-0.

No. 1 doubles — Ali Dodd/Keegan Van Pelt, FS, def. Kennedy Menke/Nicole Alfaro, OS, 8-3

No. 2 doubles — Gabby Gorman/Anna Peard, FS, def. Emma Bundy/Rylee Zuck, OS, 8-1.

Olathe South 3, Lawrence 1

No. 1 singles — Lynn, OS, def. Kimura, LHS, 8-0.

No. 2 singles — Kirkwood, LHS, def. Evans, OS, 8-4.

No. 1 doubles — Menke/Alfaro, OS, def. Waters/Thornton, LHS, 8-4.

No. 2 doubles — Bundy/Zuck, OS, def. Kliem/Hampton, LHS, 8-1.

Free State 3, Shawnee Mission South 1

No. 1 singles — Hance, SMS, def. Piper, FS, 8-6.

No. 2 singles — Veeder, FS, def. Bell, SMS, 8-6.

No. 1 doubles — Dodd/Van Pelt, FS, def. Mack/Haas, SMS, 8-1.

No. 2 doubles — Gorman/Peard, FS, def. Novack/Hanna, SMS, 8-6.

Free State 4, Lawrence 0

No. 1 singles — Piper, FS, def. Kimura, LHS, 8-2.

No. 2 singles — Veeder, FS, def. Kirkwood, LHS, 8-3.

No. 1 doubles — Dodd/Van Pelt, FS, def. Waters/Thornton, LHS, 8-0.

No. 2 doubles — Gorman/Peard, FS, def. Kliem/Hampton, LHS, 8-1.