As the girls tennis team headed to Springfield to play St. Joseph’s Academy for the state championship title today, Oct. 18, the Bruins knew they had tough competition ahead of them. Considering the back-to-back state championships they took home the two previous years, the girls knew from experience state it wouldn’t be any walk in the park.
Unable to clinch the state title for the third year in a row, RBHS left the courts away with a respectable second-place finish.
The moment the girls had been preparing for since this summer finally came at 1 p.m. As the Bruins started playing, the scores reflected the stiff competition and quality state championship tennis. But as the individual players started coming off the court, RBHS’ scores were not ahead.  Only number six freshman Hannah Pohl won her match for a total score of 1-5 for the state championship tournament.
“I think we all went out there and played our hardest, like we do every year,” senior Maddy Kayser said. “St. [Joseph] just went out there and played a lot better than us.”
Although the girls were disappointed by not repeating their state championship performance, they still come home with a one accomplishment in hand.
“I mean, I’m not happy with the outcome,” Kayser said, “but I went out there and tried my hardest and fought to stay in it and that all you can do.”
By Carleigh Thrower