The Big Rapids Cardinals traveled to Traverse City on Friday to take part in one of eight D4 tennis regionals. They ended the day with a 3rd place finish behind Traverse City St. Francis and Harbor Springs.
“I was extremely proud of how our team played today. The girls saved their best performance of the year for regionals. We lost 8 seniors and had a very inexperienced team to start the season. They have shown steady improvement and things really clicked today. To finish 3-8-4 in the regular season yet take 3rd place in a tough region is a great result.”
All four of the Cardinals doubles flights were able to win a match. At #4 doubles the sophomore duo of Ally Sims and Karlie Hughes came away with a victory in their first match and fell to Harbor Springs in a close semi-final. “Ally and Karlie were brand new to tennis in March. They played their best match of the year today and pushed the #2 seed Harbor Springs to three sets. I expect them to be near the top of the lineup next season.”
Two of the four singles flights were able to win a match for the Cardinals. At #1 singles Eden Short was crowned regional champion for the second year in a row. “Eden has taken her game to another level this season. She won her semi-final against a big hitting TCSF player 6-2, 6-2. In the final she made her 6-1, 6-3 win look easy against undefeated Lily Chamberlin of Harbor Springs.”
With 14 points the Cardinals were short of the 18 required for the team to qualify for the D4 state tournament. As #1 singles champion, Eden Short will be representing the Cardinals individually. “Eden is 23-0 this season and I expect her to get a seed at the tournament. In addition to her performance today, she has two quality wins against the D2 regional champion from Petoskey. If she plays well she has the potential to make it to day 2 at the tournament with the final four.”
The D4 state tournament takes place in Kalamazoo on May 31st.