EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (Sept. 24, 2025) — The Lady Tiger tennis team capped off an exciting day of tennis with a second-place finish at the annual Excelsior Springs Tennis Tournament on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
Two first-place finishes and a second-place finish on the courts put them one point behind the Harrisonville Wildcats for the team championship. Senior Alicja Jarosz continued her undefeated season by winning the No. 1 singles championship. She advanced to the championship match by going 3-0 in pool play with wins over opponents from Lexington (6-2), Kearney (6-1), and Cameron (6-1). She found more resistance in the championship matchup but pulled off a 6-4 win over Harrisonville to claim the tournament championship.
The No. 1 doubles team of juniors Olivia Deere and Ananya Carrel picked up a championship by going 3-0 in pool play and then winning the championship match. They defeated Lexington by the score of 6-4, followed that up with a 6-2 win over Kearney and a 7-6 win over Cameron to advance to the championship match. The championship match turned out to be a back-and-forth battle with Harrisonville in a 7-6 win for the Lady Tiger duo.
Junior Laney Smith worked her way to the championship match in the No. 2 singles tournament before falling by the score of 7-5 to Odessa. She picked up a 6-2 win over Lexington in her opening match and then defeated Kearney 6-1 before finishing up pool play with a 6-1 win over Cameron.
The No. 3 doubles team of sophomore Charis Dearing and freshman Cassie Wenz worked their way into the championship match by defeating Lexington 6-0, Kearney 7-6, and Cameron 6-2. They battled through the finals match before falling to Harrisonville by the score of 6-4.
The squad traveled to Grandview the next day and made easy work of the Bulldogs in a 9-0 win. Jarosz and Smith cruised to a 6-1 win in the No. 1 doubles match, while Carrel and Deere came away with an 8-3 win in the No. 2 doubles match. Juniors Hailey McDade and Kaylee Halfhill teamed up to win the No. 3 doubles match by the score of 8-2 to give the Lady Tigers a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.
Jarosz breezed to an 8-0 win in the No. 1 singles match. Smith and Carrel both had to battle to pick up 8-6 wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots. Deere came away with an easy 8-0 win, while McDade picked up an 8-4 win. Halfhill finished the night off with an 8-0 victory to give the Lady Tigers the 9-0 team advantage in the Suburban Blue Conference matchup.
If you appreciate the value our local journalism brings to the community, please consider making a recurring contribution to the Excelsior Citizen!
