For the second time in three years Sioux Falls Christian has won an ‘A’ girls state tennis championship. The Chargers won seven total flights, four in singles and all three doubles, to pave the way to victory.
Anna Westenberg, daughter of head coach Matt Westenberg, took Singles Flight 1, Mackenzie Boyle won in Singles Flight 2, Eisley Roark captured the title in Singles Flight 3, and Piper DeBoer claimed the top spot in Singles Flight 6. Danielle VanderDussen then took third in Singles Flight 4, while Sophia Heynen took the bronze spot in Singles Flight 5.
In doubles competition it was Westenberg and Boyle in Flight 1, Roark and VanderDussen in Flight 2, and then Heynen and DeBoer in Flight 3.
As a team the Chargers scored 563 combined points. Rapid City Christian came in second with 378-points with St. Thomas More finishing third with 290.5. Rounding out the top five was Vermillion in fourth with 289.5 and Madison in fifth with 281.5.
Despite a lot of youth on this year’s Sioux Falls Christian team, they showed poise and maturity on the court.
“Going into the year, we were really young, so just looking forward to see how the girls would develop throughout the year,” explained Chargers head coach Matt Westenberg. “We want to give God all the honor and glory, and we hope that our play on the court reflects that, and the girls just played a great tournament. I’m really proud of them.”
Coach Westenberg’s daughter Anna, the singles flight 1 champion, was a sophomore this year for Sioux Falls Christian. She enjoyed the experience of playing for her dad and winning while doing it.
“It’s really cool. It’s a great opportunity and it’s just – a lot of people don’t get to experience it and it’s really nice just having him there, on and off the court,” Anna Westenberg said.
“It makes the high moments higher and the low moments lower, but it’s lots of fun,” joked coach Westenberg. “I’m super proud of Anna and how she battled today. Down a set and came back and got the job done today.”
Eisley Roark, a freshman and the singles flight 3 champion, also mentioned how, despite the flood of sophomores, freshmen, and eight graders on this year’s squad, the team was focused.
“This year’s team was super fun, because everyone is super young,” told Roark. “I think everybody just wanted to get better throughout the season, so everyone just stayed super driven and focused on the end goal.”
Sophomore Danielle VanderDussen spoke about being able to smile and celebrate now that the goal has been achieved.
“It makes me feel just relieved and I thank God that I’m able to have the talent to be able to play that good, and I’m really happy with how today went,” she said.
Freshman Mackenzie Boyle also spoke about the joys she experienced this year.
“I think it really comes from the off-season and knowing all the work you put in, but then also having confidence in what God has put in your life and the talent he’s blessed you with and just continuing to work hard through the highs and lows,” exclaimed Boyle. “This team has a lot of fun, on and off the court, and they’re always encouraging.”
“From a tennis perspective, they’ve got a lot of experience, so we lean on that a little bit and then we try to coach them up emotionally and spiritually,” added coach Westenberg. “The older ones start taking care of the younger ones, so they’ve had experience playing from seventh or eighth grade themselves, so they know what it feels like for the younger kids. They do a great job of mentoring them.”
For a lot of the tennis athletes in the state, tennis has become a year-round sport. With indoor facilities becoming more common in parts of South Dakota, it’s expanded into the work kids can put in during a twelve-month span. And while a lot of the girls for Sioux Falls Christian will undoubtably continue crafting their skills with the weather beginning to turn, they do plan to enjoy this moment as well.
“We’ll definitely celebrate with the girls on the team and have a fun night tonight, enjoy this for a while,” said coach Westenberg with a smile. “We keep working. The girls play a lot of off-season tournaments and stuff like that, so it’s kind of a continuous things that the girls keep working on.”
Sioux Falls Christian has now won two girls state tennis championships. Their boys' program has also found a groove as they’ll go for their third straight title this spring at the ‘A’ tournament in Rapid City.
