Sion, St. Teresa’s content with third-place finishes in state tennis tournaments.

SPRINGFIELD | Notre Dame de Sion and St. Teresa’s Academy each had high hopes entering the semifinals of the Missouri state girls tennis tournament Thursday.

Both teams had plenty to play for. Two more victories would give Sion its third consecutive Class 1 state title, while St. Teresa’s was gunning for its first top-two finish in Class 2 since 2004.

And while the combination of nerves and dominant foes eventually did each team in during the semifinals — Sion lost to eventual Class 1 champions MICDS 5-1 and St. Teresa’s lost to eventual Class 2 champions Ladue Horton Watkins 5-1 — both rebounded to finish third in their respective classes and end the day at Cooper Tennis Complex on a positive note.

“We came here to win,” said Sion coach Karen O’Neill, whose team ends the season with an 11-4-1 dual record. “We were sad when we lost to MICDS, but we still had a good year.”

Both teams got off to shaky starts in the semifinals. O’Neill warned her team beforehand about the importance of playing well in the first three matches of the day — all in doubles — against MICDS, but that didn’t keep the Storm from falling in a 3-0 hole before the match format shifted to singles.

“We actually started off nervous,” O’Neill said. “It took us a while to settle down … but once you’re down 3-0, it really does make a big difference.”

St. Teresa’s lost in the semifinals by the same score but had three matches go to a third-set tie breaker. Still, Stars coach Meghan Parrott said her team played a little tight in the semifinals and challenged the Stars to play better in their third-place match against Marquette.

Her players apparently listened, as the Stars won five of their first six matches (all in singles), beating Marquette 5-1 and finishing 15-2 on the season.

“In the semifinals, I felt like we played not to lose,” Parrott said. “But in the third-place match, I thought we were more assertive across the board. We dictated the play.”

So did Sion, which steamrolled Bishop LeBlond 5-0 in the third-place match and clinched its fifth straight top-three finish, a result that is just fine with Sion senior Emmy Bird.

“We probably proved some people wrong,” Bird said of the Storm, which lost three of its top six players from last year due to graduation. “We impressed ourselves and a lot of other people, I think.”

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-10-22 23:16:01

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