Barstow’s Varsity and JV tennis teams bravely competed against Shawnee Mission East, Kansas State Champions, on Monday, September 26. They played at Harmon Tennis Park, which is adjacent to Shawnee Mission High School. Unfortunately, they were unable to defeat S.M.E. However, they played well and were challenged to a new level.
“I played the hardest singles match of the year,” according to previous State Doubles Runner-Up, Lia Adams (‘24). She played well while also being challenged immensely.
In the doubles category, Adams and her partner, Mary Colombo (‘23), engaged fiercely in the #1 doubles match of the day and pushed East to a tiebreaker. In the end, they lost 7-8 (5-7), but Adams added, “The score doesn’t reflect [the game] and they challenged me in new ways I haven’t seen this season; they pushed me to my limits.”
Two other Barstow doubles teams competed in doubles. Zoey Hrabe (‘24) and Aishi Sethi (‘23) played for #2 doubles, but unfortunately lost 4-8. Reflecting on the match, Hrabe said, “Although doubles were rough I really got the hang of my serves during singles.” In singles, Hrabe says she worked most on “hitting returns deep to the baseline, instead of just hitting them back over the net.”
Competing for #3 doubles were Sonya Shkuta (‘26) and Samantha Hembree (‘25). Both played vigorously and fought hard until the end. They also lost 4-8 but played well overall.
The team then moved on to celebrate Senior Night and then to districts, and would love Barstow support on the way.
