Wichita Eagle honors top high school girls tennis players on 2023 All-Metro team

The Wichita area featured some of the best high school girls tennis players in Kansas this season and that star power is highlighted on The Wichita Eagle’s 2023 All-Metro girls tennis team.

The All-Metro squad features the top players in singles and doubles, as well as a Coach of the Year, from teams in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties. Selections are based on season-long performance with an emphasis on postseason finishes.

After finishing their senior years with undefeated state championships, Bishop Carroll’s Brynn Steven, who won her second straight Class 5A singles title, and Andover’s Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker, who won the 5A doubles title, shared the honor as Girls Tennis Player of the Year on the All-Metro team.

Wichita Eagle All-Metro girls tennis team

Lara de Carvalho, Collegiate sophomore

The moment was never too big this season for de Carvalho, who solidified her place among the best singles players in the state by winning the Class 3-1A championship as a sophomore. Against a demanding schedule, de Carvalho finished with a 25-4 record. After a sixth-place finish at state as a freshman, no one could touch de Carvalho this fall as she only dropped seven total games at the state tournament.

Brynn Steven, Bishop Carroll senior

It was a perfect senior season for Steven, who successfully defended her Class 5A singles championship in dominant fashion. She has as strong of claim as anyone as the top player in Kansas after finishing off a 33-0 season that included an 8-4 win over the 6A singles champion (Blue Valley West’s Sara Yan) and an 8-2 win over the 3-1A singles champion (Collegiate’s Lara de Carvalho). She ended her career with three straight appearances in the 5A singles finals and joined rarefied territory as a two-time state champion.

Anna Jittawait and Brooke Walker, Andover doubles

Motivated to end their careers with their first state doubles championship, Jittawait and Walker not only achieved that goal but also finished with a perfect 30-0 record. The only scare at the state tournament came from their own teammates, as Biz Gaddis and Emma Jittawait won the first set in a semifinal showdown before Anna Jittawait and Walker rallied to win the final two sets on their way to claiming their long-awaited gold medal together.

Biz Gaddis and Emma Jittawait, Andover doubles

While the duo was the No. 2 doubles team this season for Andover, it has a strong claim as the second-best doubles team in Class 5A. Gaddis, a junior, and Jittawait, a sophomore, ran into their teammates and eventual champions, Brooke Walker and Anna Jittawait, in the semifinals of the state tournament and gave them their biggest scare during their undefeated season in a three-set match. The pairing finished the season with a 20-8 record, which included a third-place finish at the state meet.

Laney Conrad and Julia Herrman, Collegiate doubles

The partnership of Conrad and Herrman once again ended in gold, as the pair of juniors survived a talented field at the state tournament to win their second straight Class 3-1A doubles title. The duo finished with a 30-3 record this season, which included an 8-1 victory over the eventual 4A state champions from Topeka Hayden.

Madelyn Fellows and Sydney Schumaker, Maize South doubles

The No. 6 seed at the state tournament, the Maize South partners rallied all the way to the Class 5A state finals in doubles. Fellows, a senior, and Schumaker, a sophomore, finished the season with a 25-6 record, which included a runner-up finish at state and a league championship.

Simon Norman, Collegiate coach

Replacing a legend in Dave Hawley isn’t easy, but Norman’s credentials made the transition as smooth as possible at Collegiate. The Spartans were always going to be heavy favorites to win their 15th straight Class 3-1A team championship, but Norman’s guidance made that feat look easy. Collegiate scored 50 team points at the state tournament, 22 more than second place, as the team featured the singles champion in sophomore Lara de Carvalho and the doubles champions in juniors Laney Conrad and Julia Herrman. The team was rounded out by medalists in sophomore Amelia Blackman (fifth in singles) and the duo of juniors Tatum Downing and Langley Overman (seventh in doubles). This fall’s championship marked the ninth title won in the career of Norman, who was previously at Independent.

All-Metro second team

Rylee Frye, Maize junior

Molly Gaddis, Andover junior

Maggie Harrison, Maize South junior

Mia Jaramillo, Andover sophomore

Julia Judkins, Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman

Liza Dugan (sophomore) and Brooke Steven (freshman), Bishop Carroll

Leila Kral (senior) and Leah Wilkinson (senior), Eisenhower

Elyse Griffin (sophomore) and Kori Kramer (senior), Hesston

Steve Alexander, Andover coach

All-Metro third team

Amelia Blackman, Collegiate sophomore

Logan Jagolinzer, Bishop Carroll sophomore

Greer Kice, Classical junior

Sophia Majors, Trinity Academy senior

Elise Richardson, Augusta junior

Ellen Schaefer (junior) and Reese Wilborn (freshman), Andover Central

Londyn Soto (junior) and Makya Thornton (senior), Circle

Adah Branam (junior) and Leonora Neumann (sophomore), Classical

Tatum Downing (junior) and Langley Overman (junior), Collegiate

Carlie Franz (junior) and Natalie Hershberger (junior), Newton

Frank Reyes, Maize South coach