SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Carl Junction’s duo of Naiyah Wurdeman and Jenna Besperat finished third in the Class 2 doubles bracket on Friday at the 2023 MSHSAA Girls Tennis Championships at the Cooper Tennis Complex.
In the third-place match, Wurdeman and Besperat ended the 2023 season on a high note by beating Springfield Catholic’s Hannah Lee and Britney Ung 6-1, 6-4.
In Thursday’s opening round, the Bulldogs defeated the St. Pius X duo of Chloe Kronlage and Brooke Madden 6-0, 6-0.
In the quarterfinal round, Wurdeman and Besperat topped Grain Valley’s Brooklyn Spencer and Emma Thiessen 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.
In the semifinals on Friday morning, Parkway North’s Yvonne Shannon-Emily Koo defeated Wurdeman-Besperat 7-6, 6-1. That loss sent the Bulldogs to the third-place match.
Shannon-Koo ended up winning the state title by beating Villa Duschesne’s Alexandra Todorovich/Katherine Todorovich 6-3, 6-2.
Besperat is a senior and Wurdeman is a junior. The pair led the way as the Bulldogs went 15-4 in duals this fall.
This was the second straight season Wurdeman and Besperat advanced to state in doubles.
DING TAKES SEVENTH IN SINGLES
Thomas Jefferson senior Allison Ding finished seventh in the Class 2 singles bracket on Friday.
Playing for seventh place, Ding defeated Washington’s Evelyn Bryson 6-3, 6-2 to conclude the individual state tourney on a positive note.
On Thursday, Ding defeated Holt’s Jennifer Nelson 6-0, 6-1 in the opening round.
In the quarterfinals, MICDS’ Rachel Li topped Ding 6-0, 6-0.
In the consolation quarterfinals, Ding edged St. Pius X’s Kiera Dunn 6-1, 4-6, 11-9 to advance to Friday.
In the consolation semifinals on Friday, Springfield Catholic’s Caroline Nelson topped Ding 6-0, 6-1.
With the seventh-place match victory, Ding earned medalist honors for the third straight season.
The 2023 campaign isn’t over quite yet for Ding, as she and the Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers will compete at next week’s team state tournament.
Thomas Jefferson (14-0) will meet Grain Valley (23-2) in the Class 2 semifinals at 9 a.m. on Oct. 20.
