By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The last time the Springfield Catholic High School girls’ tennis team made it to the final four was the same year senior Emily Kroutil was born.
Kroutil helped secure Catholic’s first trip to the Class 1 state semifinals since 1999 with her 6-1, 6-0 singles win over Nevada sophomore Erika Watanaba, giving the Lady Irish a 5-0 quarterfinal victory.
“It’s awesome,” Kroutil said. “As a senior, and being able to go to state as a team is awesome. We’ve been wanting to do this forever and that was our goal this year. We accomplished our goal, so it makes us feel really good.”
But to get there, the Lady Irish, who improved to 18-0 on the season, first had to go through Logan-Rogersville High School in the sectional round. Catholic defeated the Lady Wildcats (12-5) 5-1 to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Nevada (14-2), which knocked off host Mount Vernon (11-2) 5-2.
Catholic’s No. 1 doubles team of junior Anna Rader and sophomore Casey Lee got things started for the Lady Irish with an 8-2 win over Nevada’s No.1 team of Emma Cheaney and Watanaba.
Kroutil and her doubles partner Cecilia Bailey won their match, 8-1, over Jaiden Cherry and Sundie Balaror, followed by Maggie Meek and Ashley Andrews’ 8-3 victory over Courtney Smith and Mikena Padgett to sweep the doubles matches for Catholic.
“Doubles is the key,” said Catholic coach Martin VerSteeg. “If you can win two of three, or even three of three in doubles, it makes singles so much easier. Because then you can kind of coach someone and get just those two more wins.”
And the first of those ‘two more wins’ came from Catholic’s No. 1 singles player, Rader.
Rader wasted little time in her 6-0, 6-0 victory over Nevada’s No. 1, Cheaney.
“Today, I felt like I served really, really well,” Rader said. “I was very happy with my performance today, happy with the whole team’s performance and I’m just so thrilled for us.”
Rader used an array of shots – drop shots, overheads, top-spin lobs – with success, and says she is feeling confident in her game.
“I felt like the order I used my shots, my placement and which shots I was picking to use, really made a difference in my performance today,” Rader said.
And with the other five singles matches going on while Rader’s finished, Kroutil secured Catholic’s needed victory.
“Everything was on point, basically,” Kroutil said about her game. “I wasn’t making any mistakes. She (Watanaba) is a good competitor, so it was a really good match.”
Next up for the Lady Irish will be Barstow, a 5-0 winner over previously unbeaten Maryville (17-1), on Oct. 13 at Cooper Tennis Complex.
“We’re definitely going to have some really tough matches as a team coming up,” said Rader, who also qualified for individual state in singles. “I know that, individually, there are some really good girls coming in that are playing, so I think that being able to play with some of those girls before I go into individual state will definitely help, and it will definitely give our team some really good competition, so I’m excited.”
And, so is the team.
“Going into this, we’ve been trying to pump each other up, saying, ‘Let’s make history, and let’s get to the final four,’ ” Rader said. “That was our ultimate goal this whole year, and to reach it is awesome.”
CLASS 1 QUARTERFINALS
CATHOLIC 5, NEVADA 0
Doubles
Anna Rader/Casey Lee (Catholic) def. Emma Cheaney/Erika Watanaba, 8-2
Emily Kroutil/Cecilia Bailey (C) def. Jaiden Cherry/Sundie Balaror, 8-1
Maggie Meek/Ashley Andrews (C) def. Courtney Smith/Mikena Padgett, 8-3
Singles
Rader (C) def. Cheaney, 6-0, 6-0
Kroutil (C) def. Watanaba, 6-1, 6-0
CLASS 1 SECTIONALS
CATHOLIC 5, LOGAN-ROGERSVILLE 1
Doubles
Rader/Lee (C) def. Courtney Potter/Samantha Hernandez, 8-2
Kroutil/Bailey (C) def. Sarah Jordan/Mattie Miles, 8-3
Meek/Andrews (C) def. Shaynie Heath/Taylor Ellison, 8-1
Singles
Andrews (C) def. Ellison, 6-2, 6-2
Miles (LR) def. Bailey, 6-2, 6-0
Meek (C) def. Heath, 6-2, 6-1
NEVADA 5, MOUNT VERNON 2
Doubles
Cheaney/Watanaba (N) def. Dannie Wilson/Lyndsey Hood, 8-6
Cherry/Balaror (N) def. Abby Rinker/Alane Cordray, 9-7
Stevie Meirick/Katelyn Grider (MV) def. Smith/Padgett, 8-6
Singles
Wilson (MV) def. Cheaney, 5-7, 6-1, 6-6 (10-8)
Watanaba (N) def. Rinker, 6-4, 6-1
Cherry (N) def. Meirick, 6-1, 6-2
Padgett (N) def. Chelsea Collins, 6-1, 6-3
STATE QUALIFIERS (Individual)
Singles – Anna Rader (Catholic), Courtney Potter (Logan-Rogersville) and Dannie Wilson (Mount Vernon)
Doubles – Emma Cheaney/Erika Watanaba (Nevada)
