Johnson County Community College
Press Release

College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122

4/24/2006
Written by Tyler Cundith

JCCC women’s tennis wins Region VI title

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- The Johnson County Community College women’s tennis team captured its 10th NJCAA Region VI Championship, reaching the finals in all nine brackets in the tournament, winning five of those matches. JCCC also won the title last year, marking the first time since 1997 the Cavaliers have won back-to-back championships. In addition to winning the championship, JCCC extended its consecutive streak of competing in the NJCAA National Tournament to 13 straight years.

In singles play, Johnson County reached the finals in each of the six brackets, winning three. Sophomore Audrey Sherman (Great Bend, Kan.) won the No. 3 singles bracket, downing Cowley County’s Jessica Lindshield, 6-1, 6-1. Sherman did not lose a set in the tournament. In fact, she only lost two games. After a bye in the first round, she opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Amina Abdullah of Seward County to reach the finals. Sherman is now 13-3 on the season, and 30-5 over her career. Her 30 career singles wins rank second all-time. She needs just three wins at nationals to become the program’s all-time leader. Last year at Region VI, Sherman won the No. 4 singles bracket in a dominate fashion, losing only three games.

Sophomore Jamie Lawrenz (Lawrence, Kan.) won the No. 5 singles bracket. Like her teammate, Lawrenz breezed to the final match, defeating Andrea Schartz of Hutchinson in the semifinals 6-0, 6-2. In the title match against Charity Andrews of Seward County, Lawrenz had a little more work, but still won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. Lawrenz season mark now sits at 11-5 heading into nationals.

Freshman Colleen Tearney (Shawnee, Kan.) won the No. 6 singles bracket, winning a thrilling three-set match over Ashley Arnold of Cowley County, 7-5. 3-6, 6-4. Tearney opened the tournament with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Hanna Hepp of Seward County, setting up her championship match with Arnold.

Sophomore Diana Goldsmith (St. Ann, Jamaica), sophomore Megan deBlonk (Emporia, Kan.) and sophomore Kalie Harris (Lawrence, Kan.) reached the finals in their respective brackets. Goldsmith lost in the No. 1 bracket to Hanane Toumi of Cowley County, 3-6, 1-6. deBlonk fell to Cowley’s No. 2 player Samantha Cowan, 0-6, 1-6, and Harris lost a hard-fought three-set match to Uthala Abdullah of Seward County, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6.

In the doubles competitions, JCCC’s No. 1 team of Goldsmith and deBlonk faced a tough Cowley County team in the finals of their bracket, and prevailed, 7-6, 6-4. The duo reached the finals with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Seward County’s No. 1 team. Goldsmith and deBlonk have a 12-3 record playing at the No. 1 doubles slot.

Johnson County’s No. 3 team Sherman (Baldwin) and Tearney made easy work of their bracket, winning both matches in straight sets. In the title match, JCCC defeated Charity Andrews and Hepp of Seward County, 7-6, 6-2. They reached the finals with a 6-0, 6-0 win Ashley Kirkpatrick and Karen Seirer of Hutchinson. This pair carries a 9-1 record into nationals
The No. 2 team of Harris and Lawrenz, All-America performers in doubles last season, fell in title match with Abdullah sisters of Seward County, 1-6, 4-6.

Up next for the JCCC women’s team is the NJCAA National Tournament, May 5-11 in Tucson, Ariz. JCCC has finished in the top-10 in each of the past nine seasons, including back-to-back fourth-place finishes the previous in 2002 and 2003, and a fifth-place effort last season.

Audrey Sherman