EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (Sept. 4, 2025) – The opening week of tennis ended with a 2-1 record for coach Richie Marsh and his Lady Tigers. The netters swept the Ruskin Eagles 9-0 to open the season before falling to the Lafayette County Huskers 6-3 and dropping the Raytown Blue Jays 6-3.
The doubles teams started the night off against Ruskin on Sept. 3, with senior foreign exchange student Alicia Jarosz teaming up with junior Laney Smith for an 8-0 win in the No. 1 doubles match. Juniors Ananya Carrel and Olivia Deere picked up an 8-3 win in the No. 2 match, and juniors Hailey McDade and Kaylee Halfhill breezed to an 8-1 win in the No. 3 matchup. Jarosz took care of the No. 1 singles spot by the score of 8-0, followed by Smith winning 8-2 in the No. 2 spot. Carrel took care of the No. 3 match with an 8-0 sweep, followed by Deere and McDade winning the fourth and fifth singles matches by the score of 8-1. Halfhill finished up the night with an 8-0 win in the No. 6 singles match to complete the win for the Lady Tigers.
The Huskers picked up the win over the Lady Tigers on Sept. 3, starting with a sweep in the doubles matches, winning 8-5, 8-4, and 8-5. Jarosz picked up the first win of the night in the No. 1 singles match with an 8-5 victory. Deere battled her way to an 8-5 win in the No. 4 singles match, and Halfhill breezed to an 8-0 win in the No. 6 match.
The final match of the busy week took the Lady Tigers to Raytown on Sept. 4 to take on the Blue Jays. Jarosz and Smith cruised to an 8-2 win in the No. 1 doubles match before the Blue Jays won the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches by matching scores of 8-6. Jarosz came away with a 6-1 win in the No. 1 singles match, followed by Smith winning 6-3 in the No. 2 spot. Carrel and Deere both battled their way to 7-6 victories before McDade fell 6-2 in the No. 5 spot, with Halfhill finishing off the night with a 6-3 win.
The Lady Tigers will continue this week with three more matches, taking on Fort Osage, Belton, and Lexington on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, all at home.
If you appreciate the value our local journalism brings to the community, please consider making a recurring contribution to the Excelsior Citizen!
