State Recap

Tennis

The girls tennis team won state for the third year in a row on Oct. 15 and 16. Juniors Greta Stechshulte and Bryson Langford played their own teammates, sophomores Katie Schmitt and Abigail Long, in the final doubles round and won, continuing their three-year winning record. Long and Schmitt took home second place.

“While we are all good friends, we are still competitive and both [doubles teams] want to win,” Stechshulte said. 

As far as singles, senior Bridget Epstein came in fourth and sophomore Katie Murphy placed seventh. Their scores combined put them in first.

“Everybody’s place really does matter,” Stechshulte said. “Us getting first is no more important than our singles team placing or our other doubles team getting second.”

The girls head coach and English teacher Andrew Gibbs believes winning state is the fulfillment of the players hard work, whether it be playing year round tennis or improving every day.  

Gibbs focuses on putting his players in match situations which thoroughly prepare them for games. Instances like making a good first serve and minimizing the number of times they lose two points in a row are just some of the tactics that Gibbs has instilled, preparing the East team for state.

“As long as high school tennis has been around, East has always had a strong program,” Gibbs said. “I don’t ever want to take for granted the opportunity that playing in a state tournament is.” 

Golf

The girls golf team placed third during the two-day state tournament at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course on Oct. 18 and 19. In the tournament, the combined individual scores and a six- player team score determines who takes home the trophy, with the lowest score winning. East scored a 706 coming behind a 685 from Washburn Rural and a 678 from Blue Valley West.

This year’s state team consisted of five underclassmen players, who are all competing at state for the first time. Despite the age gap, the team soon found a bond through their five-hour tournaments, many team dinners and daily practices, which motivated them to work as hard as possible at state, granting them their third place title.

Senior Tess Roman hopes she helped the younger girls understand what it’s like to be on varsity and play at state, having attended the tournament all four years of high school. Although the team won’t have any seniors next year, Roman still has faith in the team for next season.

“I think they’re going to do great next year, probably better than this year,” Roman said. 

Volleyball

The girls volleyball team competed in a sub-state game against Olathe South on Oct 23. sub-state is a one-day tournament consisting of either one or two single elimination games, depending on how the team performs.

After several injuries on the team, the team moved JV player and junior Annie Bastien up to varsity, with only a few practices before state. However, the team still played very well, according to varsity volleyball player and senior Aina Lewis.

Although the girls lost the first game pulling them from the state competition, the team still took the game to three rounds for a tiebreaker. 

“Our attitude going into it was one of the most important things,” Lewis said. “We went in ready to win and play the game we know how to play. I feel like we did well.” 

Although the volleyball team’s season didn’t end in their ideal way, seniors like Lewis are excited for the future of the team. 

“It’s sad that I won’t be able to see everything that they’re going to accomplish but I know they will do a lot,” Lewis said.