Marion’s red-letter tennis season will roll on another week for six dedicated student-athletes.
Ella and Owen White advanced to the Class 5A girls and boys state tennis tournament, respectively, while Preslee Graham and Sadia Uddin, and Henry Nave and Nathaniel Ervin punched their tickets on the girls and boys doubles side, respectively.
The Class 5A state tennis tournament will be held October 12 and 13 at Hot Springs Lakeside High School in Hot Springs.
Ella White earned a first-round bye to the second round of last week’s 5A East conference tournament, and once she got underway, she was hard to stop, claiming a 6-0, 6-0 victory to advance to the state tournament.
Owen White also earned a first-round bye before delivering a victory of 6-2, 6-2 to advance into the state bracket.
Graham and Uddin won their opening match 6-0, 6-0 before claiming victory in one of the matches of the day, winning in three sets (6-1, 1-6, 6-1) to clinch their spot in Hot Springs.
Nave and Ervin earned a first-round bye for their excellent regular seasons and made the Class 5A state tournament by winning in the second round 6-3, 6-2.
Marion also got strong play at the conference match from Esperanza Riedl, who won in three sets (3-6, 6-1, 6-0) in her first match before falling in the second round.
Tyler Mann capped his strong singles season, earning a first-round bye before falling in the second round 6-0, 5-7.
Rashi Patel and Rachel Coe won their first doubles match at the conference tournament 6-4, 7-5 before falling in round two.