The Blair tennis team went 2-4 Thursday during the NSAA Class B State Championships in Lincoln.
No. 2 singles player Alexandra Nilges, and the No. 2 doubles pairing of Jenna Murch-Shafer and Mallory Dreher, split matches to lead the Bears on their final day of the spring season.
“Both of those wins were fun,” first-year BHS coach Dallas Roach said. “Alexandra's was very intense, and she deserved to get that win after the improvement she has had at the No. 2 spot.”
The junior topped Lexington's Brooklyn Lul 6-0, 7-6 (7-4), before dropping her second-round match to Norris' Isabella Hecht. The Titan improved to 25-5 with the 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Murch-Shafer and Dreher, meanwhile, went 1-1 with a 6-0, 6-1 win against South Sioux City's Maria Ramirez and Stephanie Amaya.
It was the No. 1 Blair doubles team of Addy Nilges and Bailey Dingfield who Roach said stood out the most for their state play, though. The senior duo battled Lexington's Marianna McDowell and Gracey Smith, falling 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
“I know they didn't win, but they hung in there with a very talented, seventh-ranked team,” the Bears' coach said, noting the match was her squad's only outside Thursday at the Woods Tennis Center. “So, for them to be able to play a long match against a very good team in the heat, and stay close and positive through it all, is huge and says a lot about their character and mental toughness.”
Roach said she felt pride as Nilges and Dingfield represented their school.
No. 1 singles player Caitlyn Haggstrom represented Blair, too, falling to McCook's 6-3, 6-0 in her final prep match. The Bear is one of the three seniors who led their team alongside Roach this season.
“Those seniors provided guidance not only for the younger players, but myself as well,” the coach said. “As you know, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into coaching. If I had any questions at all about how things were ran, I felt comfortable asking those seniors.”
Haggstrom, Addy Nilges and Dingfield closed out their BHS chapters on the state stage.
“Hopefully I taught them some things this year,” Roach said. “I know they taught me.”
