CHANUTE — Keira Fawson and Rebekah Coltrane stayed the course in singles play Thursday afternoon at the Chanute Invitational.
The Iola High School girls tennis team fielded six players.
In the singles matches for the Mustangs, returning state player Fawson and Coltrane came away with winning marks. While Fawson finished going undefeated, Coltrane went 4-2, topping Neodesha’s Maggie Chandler and Columbus’ Liz Welch.
Fawson’s sweep consisted of beating Labette’s Katie Zwahlen, 8-2, before moving on and toppling Neodesha’s Abby White, 8-0. In the second half, Fawson shut out Columbus’ Rebecca Green before getting by Chanute’s Aaliyah Colding, 8-3.
“Keira is starting the season off the way we hope it continues. She will come up against some really good players this season,” said Iola head coach Chris Belknap.
Coltrane’s first loss was to Labette’s Aubrey Lassen, 8-1. She then earned her first victory in an 8-0 shutout over Neodesha’s Maggie Chandler. Coltrane was able to string two victories together as she then knocked off Columbus’ Liz Welch, 8-3.
Coltrane fell to Chanute’s Zoie Speaks in her final match, 8-4.
“This was the first time Rebekah played singles and she is going to kill it this year,” Belknap predicted.
The doubles portion for Iola’s tennis team included Genevive Ward and Kennedy Maier as well as Molly Riebel and Melanie Palmer. Both doubles teams went 0-4. This was Palmer’s first experience playing competitive tennis.
Ward and Maier stumbled in their first match against Labette’s Charlie Alloway and Molly Leonard, falling 8-0. The duo then lost to Neodesha’s Caitlyn Morrison and McKenzi Murrison, 8-3. That was followed by a loss to Columbus’ Emily Benedict and Sophie Lloyd, 8-1.
In their final match, Ward and Maier were defeated by Chanute’s Grace Thompson and Lena Aguilar, 8-3.
“These two continue to be fun players to watch and the way they represent our school in both kindness and sportsmanship is awesome,” said Belknap of the duo’s performance.
The final doubles pair to match up for Iola were Riebel and Palmer who also went 0-4.
Riebel and Palmer were shut out by Labette’s Madison Helwig and Lakin Giager, 8-0. They then fell to Neodesha’s Jill DeLong and Charlee Anderson, 8-1. The duo then went up against Columbus’ Brooklyn Lima and Hailey Ediger who they lost to, 8-2. In the last match, Chanute’s Lena Aguilar and Paige Kueser prevailed 8-1 over the Mustangs.
“Both of these two are starting off the year playing varsity for the first time. Melanie is playing tennis for the first time and is really falling into place well starting on varsity,” said Belknap.
The IHS girls tennis team will host an Invitational next Thursday, beginning at 3 p.m.
