Pingel, Ford get back to state meet

~ Central finished second as a team to earn a spot in Tuesday's regional round.

ST. LOUIS -- Central tennis players Sarah Ford and Lindsey Pingel served up a breakfast double bagel to their opponents Saturday morning.

And their reward is a return trip to the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 2 tournament in Springfield on Oct. 20 and 21.

The top two singles players and top two doubles teams advance directly from districts to the state meet, which makes the semifinal match pivotal in districts.

Ford and Pingel, who were the top seed, made quick work of Lindbergh's Chelsea Scott and Suzie Mullens -- 6-0, 6-0 -- to lock up their spot at state.

They put an exclamation point on the weekend with a district title by defeating Meera Shah and Marcia Klopf of Eureka 6-2, 6-3 in the finals at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park.

"One of our goals this season was to defend our district championship," Ford said. "We are happy to do that and now we are going to go to state and try to do better than we did last year."

Last year, as sophomores, Ford and Pingel won their first match at state but then lost the next two.

"They have both improved from last year," Central coach Annette Slattery said. "They hit with more authority, and their confidence level is really high. They are capable of holding their own with most of the teams at the state level."

Pingel believes that she and Ford have a chance to do good things in Springfield.

"We took lessons all winter and spring and developed some more shots," Pingel said. "I think we are playing better together, and I think we can do better than last year. We are hoping to stand on the podium this year."

The top six finishers get a spot in the podium and earn medals from the MSHSAA meet.

Sophomore Christen Edmonds also had a good tournament for the Tigers. The transfer from Notre Dame won three matches Friday, including a three-set win over fourth-seeded Katie Hasenmueller of Eureka. Edmonds, who was not seeded, made it to the semifinals before falling to top seed and eventual district champion Laura Richardson of Parkway South.

Edmonds helped Central to a second-place team finish behind Parkway South in the team competition. The Tigers will host Lindbergh, which finished third, on Tuesday a regional match. The winner of that match goes on to the sectional round Saturday at Kirkwood Park in St. Louis County.