With a mix of Class A and B schools, Bellevue East hosted the Chieftain Invitational on Saturday, April 29, Brownell-Talbot taking the team title.
This season, Krista Tew’s Chieftains came in with five seniors, and expected to have fun and be positive.
“This group of seniors, we have five of them, their freshman year was (canceled due to) COVID. And I was like, hey, we had one less year than a lot of people and we’re just gonna go out there and have fun and finish strong,” Tew said. ”It’s a lifetime sport, and I want them to enjoy it as much as possible. So we just wanted to go out there, play our matches, win and get excited, if we lose, we take something from it and learn.”
Morgan Blaha is a player who has stood out for Tew. The junior made the move to No. 1 singles on Saturday due to a dislocated shoulder suffered by Jillian Weber, falling 9-7 in her first match to Omaha Bryan senior Raquel Burton but bouncing back to win 8-1 against Brownell-Talbot sophomore Tanya Bachu. Blaha lost the next match, but won the cross-pool match 8-3 over Bellevue West sophomore Jillian Sasek.
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The Chieftains No. 1 doubles team (senior Rylee Craig junior and Ally Cook has been through the wringer but remained positive.
“They show great attitudes even if they’re down in a match and they play aggressively. My two doubles has been kind of all over the place this year. We’ve had different combinations, different people there, but we have (senior) Grace Walter. She can really work with anybody and she puts out effort and she brings a positive attitude onto the court.”
The transition from volleyball to tennis for many of Tew’s players has brought a supportive environment, though the Chieftains head coach added that sometimes she needs to remind them of the difference in volume.
“We have a good base of volleyball players so they’re very loud and vocal. And I have to constantly remind them this is an outdoor sport and sometimes we’re a little bit quieter than volleyball, but as a whole, they understand that yes, it’s individual, but it’s very much a team sport for us to win and cheer each other on and keep that positive morale up.”
The No. 1 doubles team finished sixth overall, but Walter and sophomore Kennedy Alwine placed fourth, splitting their four matches with a total game tally of 25-29.
As a team, the Chieftains finished in fifth with 21 total points.
Burton was a bright spot for Bryan, winning two of three matches in Pool B before losing to Gretna junior Kylee Stewart in cross-pool play. The Bears earned 14 team points.
For the Dragons, Stewart finished in fourth as Stewart provided a third-place finish in No. 1 singles. Kat Johnson and Abbie Zavadil swept through their matches (8-5, 8-4, 8-1, 8-6) to win No. 2 doubles at the Chieftain Invitational.
The top finish from area teams went to Bellevue West, as the Thunderbirds placed third overall behind Brownell-Talbot and Omaha Duchesne.
Sophomore Olivia Berger (No. 2 singles) and the T-Birds No. 2 doubles team (freshmen Angela Berger and Addison Lemon) both earned second-place finishes, and No. 1 doubles (senior C.J. Jocson and junior Sonny Sobczyk) placed third.