Lady Buffs qualify entire tennis team for 6A state tourney
MAIZE, Kan. (GCHS Sports Information) — When the fall tennis season got under way just a little more than a month ago, Garden City High School girls’ coach David Snodgrass was cautiously optimistic about his youthful Lady Buffs’ team.
After all, the Buffs had only one senior returning for this season, and that was doubles player Reese Kennedy.
Early in the campaign, Snodgrass juggled his lineup to find the right mix and chemistry. Each and every week, the youthful group improved – singles and doubles.
He finally settled on juniors Vivian Whitham and London Ojeda for his singles players while Reese Kennedy paired with her younger sister, sophomore Macey to form one doubles team while sophomores Renly Just and Tegan Snodgrass combined to form the other.
That group completed a near sweep a week before to win the Western Athletic Conference championship, and they followed it with a runner-up finish on Saturday in Maize at the Class 6A regional qualifying tournament.
On Saturday at Maize, all that hard work paid off in spades as all six players – both singles players and doubles teams – qualified to advance to the state tournament next week on Oct. 16-17 at Riverside Tennis Complex in Wichita.
The Lady Buffs did it by having every entrant finish among the top six during the marathon day in which matches were decided in the best 2-of-3 sets. Some matches, lasted between two and three hours, according to Coach Snodgrass.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of girls,” Snodgrass said. “Qualifying the entire team for the state tournament is an incredible milestone and a testament to how hard they’ve worked from day one.”
That performance enabled the Buffs to take second place in the team standings with 13 points. Host Maize won with 21 points.
The top finisher was Whitham with a runner-up placing after a 3-1 record. She reached the championship match before dropping a tough three-set marathon to rival Evelin Tarango of Liberal. The set scores were 6-3, 6-7 (3), 1-6. She had breezed through three matches, defeating Connie Ashbrook of Wichita East (6-0, 6-0), teammate London Ojeda (6-2, 6-4) in the quarterfinals and Hanna Garzon of Maize, the No. 1 seed, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals.
“Tennis can feel like a very individual sport out on the court, but this achievement was 100 percent a team effort,” Snodgrass said. “Every single player stepped up when it mattered most, and seeing the whole team punch their ticket to Wichita is just unforgettable.”
Snodgrass said he had seen the steady improvement of his squad throughout the month of September and then was more confident after the Buffs won the Western Athletic Conference championship on Oct. 5.
“They stayed locked in, managed the pressure beautifully, and played some of their absolute best tennis of the season,” Snodgrass said. “To see that grit pay off with everyone advancing is exactly what you hope for as a coach.”
Ojeda won her opening match in 6-1, 6-1 straight sets over Mariela Maldonado of Wichita North before facing teammate Whitham in the quarterfinals. The two had a good battle, with Whitham coming away with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph. That dropped Ojeda into the consolation bracket where she played a marathon 3 hour, 15-minute match to oust Laura Harman of Dodge City, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4. That put her into the fifth-sixth place match where she likely ran out of energy and fell to Emery Turner of Liberal, 2-6, 0-6.
The doubles matches had many dramatic moments throughout the day, with the biggest ones coming in the matches that punched their ticket to the state tournament.
For Just and Snodgrass, the big match came when they defeated EmilyiCurran and Thea Souraty of Wichita East in a straight set sweep, 6-0, 6-0, to lock in their state berth. They then faced off against their Kennedy sister teammates where they won 6-4, 6-1. Their 3-1 record for the day left them with a 28-7 record for the season.
The Kennedy sisters had been playing the No. 1 slot all season and came in with a 14-9 record. After an opening win over Wichita South’s Lexa Jones and Reagan Madison (6-0, 6-2), the sisters dropped a tense three-set match to Aspen Boydo and Addison Wadsworth of Maize, 6-3, 0-6, 1-6.
That setback put them into the qualifying match against Yvanna Rivera and Maliha Navarro of Liberal. That match, too, went three sets and lasted two-and-a-half hours before the Kennedy’s prevailed, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. They had to then take on their teammates for final placing.
“So, there were really great battles and fighting against adversity,” Snodgrass said. “Not just against their opponents, but overcoming things to push through to qualify.”
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KSHSAA Class 6A Girls Regional Tennis
At Maize High School
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
Team Scores
- Maize, 21; 2. Garden City, 13; 3. Liberal, 11; 4. Wichita East, 7; 5. Dodge City, 6; Wichita
North, Wichita South, Wichita West and Wichita Northwest, 0 points.
Garden City Individual Results
Singles
Vivan Whitham, 3-1, 2nd: 1st round, bye; def. Connie Ashbrook, Wichita East, 6-0, 6-0; Quarterfinal: def. London Ojeda, Garden City, 6-2, 6-4; Semifinal: def. Hannah Garzon, Maize, 6-0, 6-0; Championship: Lost to Evelin Tarango, Liberal, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 1-6. Season record: 26-9.
London Ojeda, 2-2, 6th: 1st round, bye; def. Mariela Maldonado, Wichita North, 6-1, 6-1; Quarterfinal: lost to Vivian Whitham, Garden City, 2-6, 4-6; def. Laura Harman, Dodge City, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4; 5th Place: lost to Emery Turner, Liberal, 2-6, 0-6. Season record: 21-7.
Doubles
Renly Just/Tegan Snodgrass, 3-1, 5th: 1st round bye; def. Aileen Figueroa/Bella Patel, Liberal, 6-0, 6-2; lost to Marisol Banuelos/Katie Rouse, Dodge City, 2-6, 5-7; def. Emily Curran/Thea Souraty, Wichita East, 6-0, 6-0; 5th Place: def. Reese and Macey Kennedy, Garden City, 6-4, 6-1. Season record: 28-7.
Reese and Macey Kennedy, 2-2, 6th: 1st round bye; def. Lexa Jones/Reagan Madison, Wichita South, 6-0, 6-2; lost to Aspen Boydo/Addison Wadsworth, Maize, 6-3, 0-6, 1-6; def. Yvanna Rivera/Maliha Navarro, Libeal, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3; lost to Renly Just/Tegan Snodgrass, Garden City, 4-6, 1-6. Season record: 16-11.