Notre Dame, Iota qualify nine for state tennis tourney

LAKE CHARLES – Tennis teams from Notre Dame and Iota competed at the LHSAA Division III Regional Tennis Tournament contested at Lake Charles’  Racquet Club on April 21-22.
Notre Dame’s boys’ team was led by senior singles competitors Jordan Daigle and Ben Zaunbrecher. Daigle, seeded third, opened with a 6-0 6-0 victory over John Christian Lyons of Iota and a 6-0 6-0 win over Evan Falgoust of St. Louis before falling in the semifinal round to eventual champion Ian Cassidy of Jennings 6-2 6-4. Zaunbrecher defeated Eunice’s Bryce Pavich 6-3 6-2 before dropping a quarterfinal matchup to top seeded Stone Sikich of St. Louis 7-5 6-2.
The Pios notched one point in doubles competition with Blade Leger and Ivy Robichaux defeating Tyler Beard and Jackson Person in straight sets. They were defeated in the next round by Taylor Gaspard and Nicholas Seilhan of Eunice. Ben Thomas and Jarrett Doucet lost to Nick Watkins and Kyle Patterson of Jennings 6-4 6-1, and Nathan Hong and Christian Millet dropped their first round match to Nick Beard and Marc Viator of Jennings.
The Lady Pios were led by sisters Madeline and Olivia Barbin, who were seeded second. After a first round bye, they defeated Abbeville’s Yen Yo and Thuy Huynh 6-0 6-0, and Amanda Husein and Shannon Dalton of St. Louis 7-5 6-2. In the semifinal round they notched an impressive 6-0 6-2 win over third seeded Maggie Kuehn and Isabella Moreno of St. Louis to reach the final, which they dropped to top seeded Maddie McClain and Olivia Kjellsten of St. Louis 6-2 6-4.
Fourth seeded Julia Schmid and Hunter Guidry reached the semifinal round. After a first round bye, they scored wins over Meghann Youngblood and Katie Stagg of Iota 6-0 6-0 and Saray Hollier and Samantha Patterson of Jennings 6-2 6-7 6-3. They were eliminated in the semifinals by McClain and Kjellsten 6-2 6-3.
The Lady Pio singles players drew tough first round competition. Lizzie Robichaux lost to third seeded Brittany Johnson of Iota and Cassidy Cox was defeated by fourth seeded K.K. Burguieres of St. Louis.
Iota was led by senior Brittany Johnson, a perennial presence in state and southern junior tennis rankings and a UNO signee. Johnson, seeded third, opened the tournament with a 6-0 6-0 win over Robichaux, and defeated Bethany Watkins of Jennings 6-0 6-0. In a 2 1/2 hour semifinal marathon, she outlasted second seeded Madeline Mixon of Catholic High 6-1 0-6 6-2, before falling in the final to top seeded ULL signee Heather Mixon of Catholic High 6-2 6-2.
In girls’ doubles competition, Iota was led by sixth seeds Emily Navarre and Ashley Istre, who drew a first round bye and then topped Grace Simpson and Stevie Lopez of Jennings 6-0 6-1. They were eliminated in the quarterfinal round by St. Louis’ third seeded duo of Maggie Kuehn and Isabella Moreno 6-3 6-0. Meghann Youngblood and Katie Stagg defeated Cindy Nguyen and Brittany Mota of Abbeville 7-6 6-2. They lost to Schmid and Guidry of Notre Dame 6-0 6-0. Shelby Istre and McKinsey Abshire were defeated by Paige Stansbury and Lauren Mixon of Catholic High 6-0 6-1.
In boys’ singles, Iota’s Ashton Blanchard lost to top seed Stone Sikich of St. Louis 6-1 6-0, and John Christian Lyons dropped a 6-0 6-0 decision to third seeded Daigle of Notre Dame.
In doubles, Coby Naquin and Mckenzie Faulk lost to John Henry Ammons and Dawson Falgoust of St. Louis 6-1 6-1.
All players who advanced to the quarterfinal round qualified to compete in the Division III State Tournament to be held April 27-28 on the ULM campus in Monroe. Representing Notre Dame will be Daigle and Zaunbrecher in boys’ doubles and the teams of Barbin/Barbin and Schmid/Guidry in girls’ doubles. Johnson will represent Iota in girls’ singles and Navarre/Istre in girls’ doubles.