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

4/25/05
Story 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 ninth NJCAA Region VI Championship, winning five of the nine brackets in the tournament. In addition to winning the championship, JCCC extended its consecutive streak of competing in the NJCAA National Tournament to 12 straight years.

In singles play, Johnson County reached the finals in four of the six brackets, winning three. Sophomore Renae Wright(Wichita, Kan.) won the No. 3 singles bracket, downing Independence’s Kelsey Stephens 6-4, 6-2. Wright did not lose a set in the tournament. In fact, she only lost six games. After a bye in the first round, she opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jenny Crank of Cowley County to reach the finals.

Freshman Audrey Sherman (Great Bend, Kan.) won the No. 4 singles bracket in a dominate fashion, losing only three games. The No. 1 seed quickly disposed of Hutchinson’s Andrea Schartz 6-0, 6-1, then downed Molly Bowman of Cowley County 6-2, 6-0 in the championship match. She has posted an impressive 16-1 record in singles play this season.

Sophomore Lisa Coleman (Olathe South) won the No. 5 singles bracket. Like her teammates, Coleman breezed to the final match, defeating Andrea Cordeiro of Seward County in the semifinals 6-0, 6-0. In the title match against Stacia Whittecar of Cowley County, Coleman dropped the first set 2-6, then battled back with wins of 7-6, 6-1 in the following sets to win the title.

Freshman Jenna Murphy (Chapman, Kan.) reached the finals in the No. 6 singles bracket, but lost to No. 1 seed Gina Pendrak of Cowley County, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Murphy opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Marlene Holmes of Independence, setting up her championship match with Pendrak.

In the doubles competitions, JCCC’s No. 2 team of Coleman and freshman Kristin Davis (Barstow) faced a tough Cowley County team in the finals of their bracket, and prevailed in three sets. JCCC won first set 6-3, then dropped the second 4-6. The secured the title with a 6-4 win in the final set. The duo reached the finals with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Kate Baker and Kelsey Stephens of Independence.

Johnson County’s No. 3 team Kalie Harris (Baldwin) and Jamie Lawrenz (Baldwin) made easy work of their bracket, winning all both matches in straight sets. In the title match, JCCC defeated Jenny Crank and Gina Pendrak of Cowley County 6-1, 6-1. They reached the finals with a 6-1, 6- win over Eliza Cezario and Andrea Cordeiro of Seward County.

Up next for the JCCC women’s team is the NJCAA National Tournament, May 8-12 in Tucson, Ariz. JCCC has finished in the top-10 in each of the past eight seasons, including back-to-back fourth-place finishes the previous in 2002 and 2003.