Three area singles players, one doubles team in Missouri state semis

SPRINGFIELD | Kate Sims was in trouble, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

Friday was the first day of the Missouri state tennis tournament at Cooper Tennis Complex, and Sims, a sophomore at Barstow, was on the verge of losing her first-round match against Taylor Little of College Heights Christian. After they had split the first two sets, Sims trailed 9-5 in the third-set tiebreaker and was serving to fend off match point.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Sims had faulted on her first serve. One more fault, and the match — and her dream of placing in the top four at state — was over.

That’s when Sims did something Barstow coach Tom O’Brien didn’t expect her to do. Instead of playing it safe and simply trying to get it over the net, she unleashed a big second serve.

“That showed some guts,” O’Brien said.

And it paid off, as she went on to win the point — the next five, for that matter — and pick up a come-from-behind win. She advanced to the quarterfinals, where she beat her next opponent handily and moved on to today’s Class 1 semifinals.

“That win gave me a lot of confidence,” Sims said. “You’re calmer after you get past that first obstacle.”

Other local players kept their state championship dreams alive, too. Notre Dame de Sion senior Amy Barnthouse and Park Hill sophomore Suzanne Barth each made it to the semifinals of their respective classes with relative ease.

Barnthouse dropped the opening game of her first-round match against Hannah Gant of West Plains but rebounded and won the next 12 games in a 6-1, 6-0 victory. She kept the streak going in the Class 1 quarterfinals by beating Elle Prewitt of Greenwood 6-0, 6-0.

Barnthouse said she was trying to avoid what had happened to her at state last year, when she suffered a disappointing first-round loss.

“I knew this was a new year,” Barnthouse said. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

Barth also cruised through both of her matches Friday 6-0, 6-0 but said that didn’t keep her from feeling nervous throughout the day.

“I actually think it helped me,” Barth said. “The nerves kept me sharp, mentally.”

Now, like Barnthouse and Sims, she’ll try to keep the good vibes going today. Barth will take on Hickman senior Dina Kaissi, who has a 23-2 record, in the Class 2 semifinals. Barnthouse faces MICDS sophomore Hannah Wille, 8-2. Sims faces the 2008 runner-up, John Burroughs sophomore Sydney Lehman, 8-0, in Class 1.

One local doubles team made the semifinals. Liberty’s duo of senior Leslee Feldhaus and junior Abby Fish will face Katie Thome and Madeline Jolly of St. Joseph’s Academy today for the right to play for the Class 2 title.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-10-23 22:06:01

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