Kizziar makes girls tennis quarterfinals

Freshman Juhree Kizziar made a good showing at the girls state tennis tournament held in Roseburg on May 17, and made it to the quarterfinals before she dropped her last match.

Kizziar defeated senior Allya Sierra 6-2, 6-1, in her first-round competition. Kizziar started a bit slow and dropped the first two games, but came back strong and won six games in a row to win the first set. She took control and finished strong at the net to win the second set.

Kizziar faced senior Ellie Christian of Marist in the second match. Christian used a lot of slice-shots and lobs. Kizziar was able to adapt to that style of play quickly, but just didn’t have enough to get the win and dropped the match 3-6, 4-6.

Since there was no consolation bracket, the loss to Christian brought Kizziar’s season to an end.

Coach Alan VonStein said, “I am confident that should she face this opponent again, she would end up with the victory.”

VonStein added, “Juhree has an innate burning-in-the-gut desire to be good, and to win. Having the opportunity to coach such an individual is the reason that I’ve coached sports for the past 27 years. She is very exciting to watch and is inspirational for other players. She is both humble and coachable. I am confident that she will spend the necessary amount of time honing her skills in the off-season. She is definitely driven to take her game to the next level.”

VonStein and his wife, Rebecca, who coaches the JV team, have decided to retire from coaching, and told The Nugget it will be exciting for them to watch the Sisters program from the stands.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to coach the girls’ tennis team over the last three years. All of the girls are extremely respectful and have all improved so much. I think there is a lot of excitement generated around the tennis program at present and that many of the female athletes have plans of working on their game in the off-season.”