PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — The McPherson High School girls’ tennis team finished the 2025 season as Class 4A state runners-up for the second year in a row on Oct. 17–18 in Prairie Village.

While McPherson gave it their all, earning the No. 2 spot with a team score of 36, Wichita Collegiate pulled through to win the state title with 43 points.

MHS senior Maryn Sandbo finished third in singles. Seeded No. 3 entering the tournament, she received a first-round bye typically granted to top-seeded players to balance brackets when there’s an odd number of competitors.

Sandbo won both of her first-day matches in straight sets, advancing confidently to Saturday’s semifinals. There, she faced a familiar opponent Buhler High School’s Sofia Spies and fell in two sets. Spies went on to finish as the state runner-up. However, Sandbo bounced back to win the third-place match, 6-4, 6-1, closing her season with a 30-6 record.

Freshman Mayson Wiens also competed in singles, entering as the No. 10 seed. Wiens won her first match in straight sets but fell to the No. 7 seed in the next round. In the consolation bracket, she earned one more victory before being eliminated, finishing her season 27-10.

Both McPherson doubles teams placed in the top five. Quinn Libel and Avery Unruh finished third. As the No. 4 seed, they received a first-round bye and dominated their opening match, dropping only two games in 14. They continued their strong play with a 6-1, 6-2 win to advance to the semifinals, where they fell 6-4, 6-4 to the eventual champions from Wichita Collegiate. Libel and Unruh rebounded in the third-place match, winning in three sets to finish 31-4 on the season.

Lleyton Kuhn and Alexandria Rodriguez placed fifth in doubles. Despite not having a first-round bye, they won their first two matches to reach the quarterfinals before falling to Independence’s Mattix and McLenon, the No. 2 seeds. That same duo later lost to Libel and Unruh in the third-place match. Kuhn and Rodriguez bounced back with an 8-4 win in consolation play and then captured the fifth-place match, 8-2. Kuhn ended her freshman season as a state medalist, while Rodriguez earned her second career medal.

Five of McPherson’s six state qualifiers finished the season as medalists. The lone non-medalist, a freshman, still delivered a standout season. With Sandbo as the only senior, the Bullpups’ future looks bright, especially with two freshmen and a sophomore already earning state trips.

Thus ends another strong season for the McPherson Bullpup girls’ tennis team.