Park Hill’s Barth falls in Missouri State tennis final

Source: The Star

Dianna L. Russell | Special to The Star

Park Hill’s Suzanne Barth had her hands full in the Missouri Class 2 state tennis final.

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SPRINGFIELD | Once again, Park Hill sophomore Suzanne Barth was nervous.

Barth had that all-too-familiar feeling of dread before she faced Columbia Hickman senior Dina Kaissi in the semifinals of the Missouri Class 2 state tennis tournament on Saturday at Cooper Tennis Complex, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She’d felt the same way before her first two matches of the tournament, both of which she won in straight sets, and said afterward that it helped her focus.

That didn’t change on Saturday, as Barth beat Kaissi handily 6-3, 6-1 and advanced to the finals later in the day.

“I felt like my nerves kept me sharp,” Barth said. “It was very helpful.”

And while Barth’s championship match against undefeated Kirkwood senior Rachel Stuhlmann didn’t go nearly as well — she lost 6-0, 6-0 — Barth said she can still look back at the season and call it a success.

Of course, she wanted more. But Stuhlmann, who finished as the state runner-up in 2007 and spent her junior year at a tennis academy in Texas, was simply too tough. Barth tried everything to keep her off balance. She hit the ball deep, she hit the ball short, she even changed speeds. But Stuhlmann, it seems, had an answer for everything.

“I think (Stuhlmann) only made three or four unforced errors the entire match,” said Park Hill coach Tim Kalis. “Suzanne would hit an incredible shot, but Rachel would always find a way to put it in play.”

“I feel like a played a good match,” Barth said. “But she was amazing.”

Barth wasn’t the only local singles player to take home a medal. Notre Dame de Sion senior Amy Barnthouse and Barstow sophomore Kate Sims each reached the Class 1 semifinals, but Barnthouse lost to MICDS sophomore Hannah Wille 6-2, 7-5, while Sims lost to the eventual champion in John Burroughs sophomore Sydney Lehman 6-0, 6-2.

Barnthouse and Sims then met in the third-place match, where Barnthouse prevailed 6-3, 6-1, finishing the season with a 20-5 record.

Barnthouse, who took second at state in 2007 and fifth in 2008, was disappointed with her semifinal loss but is pleased with her high school career as a whole.

“From freshman year to now, I definitely think I came a long way,” said Barnthouse, who ends her career with three top-five finishes at state. “I’ve gotten much better.”

Liberty senior Leslee Feldhaus also ended her career on a high note, as she and her partner, junior Abby Fish, beat Marcia Klopf and Melinda McBratney of Eureka 6-3, 6-4 in the third-place match of Class 2 singles.

The win gave Feldhaus her third consecutive third-place finish in doubles at state.

“This time, it’s awesome because it’s my last year,” Feldhaus said. “I’m really excited because I was able to do it with three different partners.”

Other state placers from local schools include: Emmy Bird and Brydie O’Connor of Sion, who beat Elena McCallister and Courtney McCray of Pembroke Hill 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the Class 1 fifth-place doubles match, and Kylie Hornbeck of St. Teresa’s, who finished sixth in singles in Class 2.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-10-24 21:40:01