Girls tennis: Jenks takes team crown, Heritage earns two titles...

By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com

We are wrapping up the girls portion of the Heritage Hall Tournament of Champions tennis event, and it was very eventful.

Still disappointing to not have Bishop McGuinness in it, but nothing that could be done about that. In a tight race until the end, Jenks edged out Heritage Hall for the team title.

It was a tournament where just about all teams could feel pretty good about the results. There were a couple of surprises along the way but not that many.

Team scores
1. Jenks 28; 2. Heritage Hall 27; 3. Duncan 24; 4. Edmond North 20; 5. Enid 18; 6. Broken Arrow 13; 7. Edmond Memorial 11; 8. Shawnee 7.

Championships
No. 1 Singles: Julie Labarthe, Heritage, def. Lisa Waldron, Jenks, 6-0, 6-3

It didn’t take long for there to be an upset here as defending 6A champion Rachel Mitcham was knocked out by Broken Arrow’s Jodi Blackim rather easily at 6-2, 6-1.

Mitcham did bounce back and looked good in her final two matches to place fifth, but Blackim has a lot of power to her game. It’s tough to overpower her, and she’s not afraid to go for her shots.

In the championship, Labarthe was dominant early but Waldron started to frustrate Labarthe a little in the second set. Very good effort from the top Jenks player.

Disappointing end as Melanie Barnes of Duncan had to withdraw during the semis and defaulted in her third-place match. It was a knee this time. Last year it was a wrist injury that kept us from seeing her at her best.

Third: Blackim, BA; Fourth: Barnes, Duncan; Fifth: Mitcham, North; Sixth: Dick, Enid; Seventh: Montgomery, Memorial; Eighth: Calder, Shawnee.