Print edition: 
VALLEY CENTER — The Bishop Carroll girls tennis team had waited and waited for its moment.
Then, because of a postponement on Saturday and a three-hour delay on Monday, they had to wait a little longer.
But the Eagles finally got the big payoff they'd been forced to wait for, winning a 5A regional at Newton and qualifying five for state.
"It's really exciting," Carroll's Courtney Dold said. "Everybody played really well and put in their own part in this and that's what got us here."
Carroll was awarded the top two seeds in doubles and showed that each team was worthy by meeting in the finals as Dold and Paige Lauer defeated Anna Gunther and Maddie Oxler 6-3, 6-1.
"We were so pleased that we got those two seeds and that meant the coaches respected our teams but we wanted to prove ourselves," Carroll coach Monica Peter said. "For them to not only make it to state, but end up one and two, it's great."
Playing against their teammates wasn't easy for either pair. Gunther and Oxler jumped out to an early lead, but City League champions Dold and Lauer took control of the rest of the match.
"It was hard, we've played them before and they've beaten us, so it was anybody's game really," Dold said. "It came down to who stepped up and we did to win it."
Carroll's Hillary Hicks battled back from a second-round defeat to finish fifth and qualify for state.
Kapaun Mount Carmel's Maddie Schulte, the No. 1 seed in singles, defeated Mel Mihelic from Andover, 6-1, 6-1 in the finals. It's Schulte's second regional title after winning doubles last year.
"It feels really good, but it was stressful even though the score wasn't that close because we had a lot of deuces and tough points," Schulte said.
Mihelic, seeded No. 7, had put a string of upsets together to reach the finals. Wins against Hicks (No. 2 seed) and Andover Central's Amy Fuget, (No. 6 seed who also qualified for state) put her in the finals.
Kapaun also qualified one of its doubles team, Anna Le and Lindsey Weixelman, who finished fifth.
"We would have loved to send more, but I'm very pleased about finishing second," Kapaun coach Kathy Schulte said. "Our two teams (Kapaun and Carroll) have been kind of worn back and forth all year. They are just strong and have a ton of depth."
Arkansas City's Mariah Vargas, who finished third in singles, and the doubles team Courtney Saia and Janelle Headrick, who finished fourth in doubles, qualified for state.
Winfield's Anne VanSeckendorff from Winfield finished sixth in singles.
Andover Central's Carmen and Joanna Ramirez finished third while Andover's Erin Cloprine and McKenzie Lair finished sixth to qualify in doubles.
Class 5A regional at Valley Center
Team results — 1. Carroll 17 2. Kapaun 12 3. Andover Central, Arkansas City 9 5. Andover 6. Winfield 7. Newton
Singles — 1. Schulte, Kapaun, def. Mihelic, Andover, 6-1, 6-1. 3. Vargas, Arkansas City, def. Fugit, Andover Central, 6-0, 6-4. 5. Hicks, Carroll, def. VanSeckendorff, Winfield, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles — 1. Dold-Lauer, Carroll, def. Gunther-Oxler, Carroll, 6-3, 6-1. 3. C. Ramirez-J. Ramirez, Andover Central, def. Saia-Headrick, Arkansas City, by default. 5. Le-Weixelman, Kapaun, def. Cloprine-Lair, Andover, 6-4, 6-3.
