Two tennis players finished their season as regional quarterfinalists. Junior Kali Rose and sophomore Zane Ritter traveled to San Antonio Thursday, April 17 to play in the regional tournament. In the first round, they defeated a No. 1 seeded team from Highland High School, 6-2, 6-2.

“I felt pretty good going into San Antonio because we did so well at district,” Rose said. “Then we got to the quarterfinals.”

In the quarterfinal round, they faced Gregory-Portland High School, the No. 2 seeded team in the region, and lost to conclude their season.

“We could have improved, but I was surprised at how well we played together,” Ritter said. “I think there definitely was [chemistry], she kept me calm while I helped her in point play.”

Tennis coach Michael Hjort decided to put Ritter and Rose together only three weeks before the district tournament where they finished second to qualify for regionals.

“Kali was part of a mixed doubles team in the fall and Zane has played doubles most of his life,” Hjort said. “When Dylan [Ritter] broke his hand, I made the decision to put the two together.”

The decision played out well for the team, who completed their goal from the beginning of the year to make it to regionals, and as an added bonus it allowed Hjort to end his coaching career on a high note.

“It’s a nice way to go out,” Hjort said. “Every coach would like to end on a state championship but our goal has been to make it to the regional tournament. It makes me happy to finish my coaching career on that.”