Girls tennis is back in Wichita. Here are five storylines to watch in 2018

A few teams are looking to keep history rolling while other are seeking to make their own.

Here are the top five storylines in the Wichita area heading into the 2018 girls high school tennis season.

5. On pace for a 4-peat

Avid tennis followers likely knew Clara Whitaker’s name before she took a high school court last year.

Many more know her now. Whitaker won the Class 5A singles state championship for Kapaun in 2017 as a freshman. She is on pace to sweep her career.

The Crusaders won both events at last year’s 5A tournament, but Whitaker’s title was especially impressive as she capped a 33-3 season with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Carroll’s Brittany Steven, who will return for her senior season in 2018.

4. The last family reunion

The Steven name has long been associated with tennis greatness in Wichita.

A Steven has won nine state championships out of Wichita, including Carroll’s Rodney Steven, who won a pair on the boys side in 2016-17. Now his cousins and sisters are looking to do the same.

Last year, Brittany came in runner-up in 5A singles. And Brayden and Lauren did the same in doubles.

All three Stevens return in 2018 as seniors and will be looking to do one match better to continue the family legacy in Kansas.

3. Cracking the Thunder

St. James Academy shocked the field in 2017.

The Thunder won the Class 5A team state championship 37-33 over Bishop Carroll without getting any players in either state final event and getting only one into the semifinals. They did it with depth.

St. James’ top player was Catherine Rieke, who came in third in 5A singles. She has graduated, so the Thunder will have to look elsewhere, and that could open the door for a Wichita-area school.

Kapaun and Carroll seem the most likely candidates for that role, but Maize, Newton, Maize South and Goddard also came up with top 10 finishes at state last year and will return strong lineups in 2018.

2. Easy as 3-2-1?

The Wichita area has perennially owned Kansas’ bottom classification, but that changed last year.

For just the third time since 1985, a team outside of the Wichita area won the Class 3-2-1A state championship. Kansas City Christian took it 44-40 over Hesston. It was KC Christian’s first team title in school history.

The Swathers, Conway Springs, Collegiate and Independent have won 28 championships in 3-2-1A. They will be the favorites to get there again in 2018, but KC Christian returns almost its entire state roster from last year.

Thankfully for Wichita area schools, players like Hesston seniors Ashley Hubbard and Kylie Martin, Independent junior Sense Cadman, and Conway Springs junior Kara Koester will be back, too. And depending on classification, Collegiate’s stars will be there as well.

1. Shooting for 29

Collegiate’s state record is eye-popping, and it apparently doesn’t matter which classification the Spartans are in.

Last year, Collegiate won the 4A state championship 38-30 over Arkansas City and Independence, and the Spartans’ doubles team of Sydney Lair and Hannah Geoffroy won their event.

They will be back as Collegiate will go for state championship No. 29 — the most of any school in Kansas.

Coach Dave Hawley enters his 41st season at Collegiate, which would mean his teams win state championships 70.7 percent of the years. But he will need help.

Lair and Geoffroy will lead the way for the Spartans, but returning senior Lauren Conrad will be a key piece to the puzzle, too. She is coming off a fourth-place finish in 4A singles last season.

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 1:24 PM.