League champs, Dippel dominate on the court

Monday’s league tennis tournaments featured several dominating performances in the area.

Wichita Independent won all four brackets at the Central Plains League tournament to take first place, well ahead of second-place Conway Springs. Hutchinson did the same thing in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League’s Division I, claiming first place in every bracket to run away with the team title.

McPherson was nearly as overpowering in Division II, where the Bullpups earned championships in three of the four brackets. In the other one (No. 1 singles), McPherson settled for second place. The Bullpups compiled enough points to outdistance second-place Winfield.

The margins were impressive considering that each league tournament featured more than one strong team. The AVCTL Division I includes Goddard and Hutchinson, ranked among the top five in Class 6A and 5A, respectively. The AVCTL Division II features Winfield and McPherson, both ranked among the top five in 5A. And the CPL stars are Independent and Conway Springs, both top-five teams in Class 3-2-1A.

Wichita Collegiate, the top-ranked team in 3-2-1A, had a much closer margin in the Mid-Central Activities Association tournament. The Spartans finished only four points ahead of Smoky Valley, the top-ranked team in Class 4A. Collegiate and Smoky Valley are defending state champions; it’s too bad they won’t remain in the same league when the MCAA dissolves after this year.

One of the rising stars in local tennis competition is sophomore Quinn Dippel, whose brother, Chase, was a star athlete in multiple sports at Smoky Valley. Both boys advanced to state semifinals in the 4A tennis tournament last year. Chase capped his senior year with a second-place state finish and Quinn was third in singles competition. Not a bad start to his high school career.

Quinn has excelled this season, too. In April alone, he placed first in tough tournaments at Salina Central, McPherson, Collegiate and Hesston. His opponents in those finals included Maize’s Clint Chlumsky, Collegiate’s Daniel Ritchie and Hesston’s Jesse Voth-Gaeddert, all respected players.

Smoky Valley will compete in this weekend’s Class 4A regional at Russell. Expect Quinn – and several of his teammates – to proceed to the state tournament.