One member of the Emporia High girls tennis team will be making a return to state next week.
Sophomore Kali Keough won the singles championship of the Class 5A regional hosted by Salina Central on Saturday with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Janae Montoya of Salina Central.
Keough had not dropped a game in her first three matches en route to the championship match, defeating Maycie Holdeman of Hays in the first round, and Paige Stacey of Great Bend in the quarterfinals, which punched her ticket to state. Keough defeated Great Bend’s Kaylin Wahlmeier in the semifinals.
Keough will head to state with a 23-7 record and will look to improve on her eighth-place finish during her freshman year.
Seniors Ashlynn Foraker and Darian Chadwick just missed qualifying for state as they fell to Valley Center, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that would’ve qualified them for state and play for fifth and sixth place. Foraker and Chadwick finish their season with a 13-9 record.
Sophomores Peyton Chanley and Kinsley Hines were eliminated in the first round to Hutchinson. Chanley and Hines’ final record is 14-15.
Senior Danika Williams was defeated in the first round, 6-0, 6-0 by Haley Ruth of Newton. Williams finished her season with a 2-19 record.
Keough will begin play in the Class 5A state tournament Friday at the Salina Tennis Center in Salina.
