Lafayette Tennis Team Goes to State for First Time

This year's Lafayette High School girls' varsity tennis team in Wildwood qualified for state semifinal playoffs for the first time in the school's history. 

won Saturday's Team Sectional morning match 6-0, and the afternoon match 5-1 over last year's state runner-up, Jackson High, not needing to play doubles in either match. The matches were played in Eureka and Webster Groves.

Lafayette winners in the first match were Haleigh Chobanian, Arianna Demos, Chelsea Weise, Abby Carpenter, Julia Vranas, and Kayla Neskar, all in straight sets.

Going against the Ladue High tennis team in the afternoon match, Arianna Demos, Chelsea Weise, Abby Carpenter, Julia Vranas, and Kayla Neskar all won in straight sets, including Demos' clinching win over last year's state doubles champion.

All of the players are residents of Wildwood, except for Vranas and Neskar, who are from Chesterfield.

"Thanks to all of the parents and all of the girls that came out to the courts at Eureka and Webster to cheer the team on. It's great to have such a supportive team, and we know the girls playing really appreciated it," said Lafayette High tennis head coach Donna Stauffer.

On Thursday, the team will play at the 37th Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Girls Tennis Championships in Springfield, MO, at the Cooper Tennis Complex. Chobanian will play in the individual competition on Friday and Saturday.

In addition to Stauffer, Lafayette tennis coaches are Scott Stauffer, Nick Jury and David Hoffman.