SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Jefferson City girls tennis team wrapped up its third consecutive fourth-place finish in the Class 2 state team championships after dropping a pair of matches Thursday at the Final Four.
The Lady Jays started the day at the Cooper Tennis Complex with a 5-3 loss in the semifinals to St. Joseph's Academy.
The Lady Jays began the match with wins in two of the three doubles matches. At No. 1, Paige Smith and Eden Hoogveld claimed an 8-2 win, while Athira Nambiar and Erica Dunn won 9-8 (7-3 tiebreaker) at No. 3.
Kelly Raithel and Kirsten Schmidt lost 8-1 at No. 2 doubles.
Hoogveld picked up the lone win for the Lady Jays in singles, winning 6-0, 6-0.
Raithel lost 6-1, 6-3; Smith fell 7-6 (7-3 tiebreaker), 6-3; Schmidt dropped a 6-1, 6-1 decision); and Dunn lost 6-2, 6-3. Nambiar was playing a third set after splitting the first two when the match was completed.
In the third-place match, Jefferson City dropped a 5-1 decision to Notre Dame de Sion. The lone win for the Lady Jays came from the doubles team of Raithel and Schmidt, who won 8-5.
Falling in doubles were Smith and Hoogveld (8-1) and Nambiar and Dunn (8-6).
In singles, Raithel lost 7-5, 6-1; Smith fell 6-0, 6-1; and Schmidt lost 6-1, 6-0.
Hoogveld, Nambiar and Dunn were still on the court when the team was decided.
The Lady Jays end their dual-match season at 20-7.