WICHITA -- It turned out to be a state championship decision for McPherson High’s Casyn Buchman and Kirsten Holle.
Late in the regular season, Bullpup coach Doug Gayer gave his two talented singles players the option of competing for the Class 5A state singles title or joining forces to go after the doubles championship.
Buchman was second in the state last year, while Holle accumulated some impressive tournament titles earlier this season.
But the junior Buchman and sophomore Holle thought it was a no-brainer. They decided to team up, and the rest of Class 5A wishes they hadn’t.
Buchman and Holle completed a perfect, albeit abbreviated, season Saturday by dominating the 5A field to become the Bullpups’ fourth girls state doubles champions. They join the teams of Jennifer Riggenbach-Cammy Jantz (1993), Kristin Bohnenblust-Heather Nippert (1996) and Callie Crist-Karly Schultz (2002).
Buchman and Holle (15-0) won all four tournaments they entered. And here, they weren’t really pushed, defeating Meghan McMahon and Hannah Crandall of Miege 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals, then repeating Monday’s regional championship win over Salina Central’s Megan Hauserman and Ashley DeTurk in the finals, 6-2, 6-2.
In the semifinals, the Bullpup duo -- admittedly nervous -- lost the first three games, then won 12 of the last 14. In the finals, they won the final four games of the first set, then lost the first two games of the second set before winning the last six.
“Actually it was a pretty easy decision (to play doubles),” Buchman said. “Kirsten is such a great doubles partner. I thought we’d have a great chance. So it was a pretty easy decision.”
“It was simple,” Holle said when it came decision time. “It was just kind of obvious what we should do and it worked out.”
“That was awesome,” Gayer said of his team’s stampede through the field. “That (the championship match) was the best match they had played, regionals and state combined. So to do it when it counts, I think that says something about their heart. I went in thinking they had worked harder than anybody else, put more time in and yout just wondered and hoped they would play their best, which they did.”
The Bullpups, second as a team last year, finished behind St. Thomas Aquinas (40) and Salina Central (35). MHS’ 27 points tied it with Carroll, but the Bullpups won on the tiebreaker.
Seniors Ashley Allmon and Katie Bomberger went 2-1 on Saturday to finish sixth and went 4-2 overall. They were fourth at the regional, so they finished much higher than their state seeding.
“That was a thrill for those two,” Gayer said. “Allmon had not been to state and she got sixth on her first try. Katie had been to state and she was steady all year.”
MHS also was represented at state by Kylee Bonham, who competed in singles Friday before being eliminated.
Wichita, Kan. —
