By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Prep tennis players, representing 17 teams, showed up for Wednesday’s, Sept. 14, Springfield Invitational Tournament.
The tournament, for singles and doubles competition only, was held at the Cooper Tennis Complex. No team scores were kept.
“We had a great tournament,” said Central High School coach Donita Cox. “The weather was nice, the tournament moved very smoothly and the level of competition was super.”
At the end of a long day Glendale’s Chloe Stenger walked off the court as this year’s singles champion. Grabbing the 2022 doubles title were Central’s Brett Boney and Elana Hadi.
Stenger, only a junior, defeated Kickapoo’s Brynley Brotherton in the tournament final to earn this year’s top singles honors.
“It feels great to have won today’s championship, it’s something I’ve been hoping I could do all day,” said Stenger. “Last year I got knocked out in the first or second round, so this feels like a really good redemption.”
As with most athletes in this area, Chloe and Brynley were not strangers to each other.
“We’ve been playing together for a few years now, so we’re really good friends,” said the Glendale champion. “She used to beat me all the time but this year I have won twice. Today’s match with Brynley was a good one though, and I love her very much.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
Glendale head coach Andrew Pohlman said that Stenger’s victory was, not only long overdue, but also a most deserving one.
“Chloe is very coachable, humble and a hard worker. She’s everything a coach could ask for in an athlete,” he said. “She’s very deserving of today’s Springfield Invitational title because she’s worked very hard to get it.”
Central’s Brett Boney and Elana Hadi have also worked hard, and like Stenger, are now Springfield Invitational Tournament champions as well.
“Our finals match with Oliva Edwards and Lucy Huang of Glendale was really a tough one,” said Boney. “They were so competitive that it made today’s win feel really great.”
“Today’s win was also very special for me personally,” she said. “Coming here today reminded me of all my efforts to do this as a freshman, sophomore and junior. After all of that, to come back my senior year and be a champion, wow. I’m so happy.”
So how did Brett and Elana, who hadn’t played doubles together until Wednesday, make things work for them.
“We have a great connection. It’s like we always know instinctively where each other is,” said Hadi. “And we have a trust. We each have responsibilities to take care of on the court and we trust each other to get our parts done.”
Central High head coach Donita Cox said that she couldn’t be happier for Boney and Hadi.
“Both Brett and Elana are such great kids. Brett is a senior and a captain, but most of all, the heart and soul of our team. She’s a great role model and provides a great deal of leadership for us,” said Cox. “Elana is a junior and plays our number one spot. She’s a great player, very competitive and I really enjoy having her on the team.”
“They’re two players that I depend on to help us get wins and give stability to the team,” said the Central coach. “It was fun to watch them play today and to be able to grab the tournament doubles championship.”
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE TOURNAMENT
Although finishing as this year’s doubles runner-up Glendale’s Olivia Edwards and Lucy Huang were anything but disappointed with their performance.
“I’m not disappointed at all. We feel like we played at a very high level today. Brett and Elana were the best team we’ve ever played, and today, it seems as though every game we played went to deuce,” said Huang. “So we’re pretty proud of our effort and I think it’s given Olivia and me a lot of confidence as we near district play.”
And what have been strong points for Edwards and Huang in 2022?
“I play good at the net and Lucy has great ground strokes,” said Edwards. “We play really well together like that.”
Medals went out to the top six placers in both singles and doules.
Springfield Invitational Tournament
Singles Competition
1st – Chloe Stenger – Glendale
2nd – Brynley Brotherton – Kickapoo
3rd – Sarah Wilde – Capital City
4th – Lila Griesemer – Springfield Catholic
5th – Caroline Nelson – Springfield Catholic
6th – Caitlyn Archer – Logan Rogersville
Doubles Competition
1st – Elana Hadi/Brett Boney – Springfield Central
2nd – Lucy Huang/Olivia Edwards – Glendale
3rd – Reagan Hunt/Sophia Vestak – Bolivar
4th – Hannah Lee/Britney Ung – Springfield Catholic
5th – Annie German/Alex Li – Springfield Central
6th – Julia Lee/Rylee Starnes – Springfield Catholic
