Culbertson, who improved to 24-2 overall this season, was nervous coming into play Saturday after losing to the eventually Division II sectional Sierra Nellessen, of Tippecanoe, 6-3, 6-2, in a regular season match on Thursday.
“We were both nervous at the start of the day, especially when Taylor fell behind 2-1 in the first set,” said Tecumseh head coach and Taylor’s mom, Jennifer Culbertson. “But she changed her game a little, slowed up the pace and let the points go longer. Taylor started to gain confidence once her serve and her ground strokes warmed up.”
The No. 4 seed Nicole Pavlatos, of Springfield placed fourth, losing to Parker in the semifinals (6-2, 6-0) and fell to Rogers in the third-place match (6-0, 6-2).
The Wildcats doubles team of Farah Chaudhry and Kristin Campbell finished second after falling to the No. 2 seed team of Ivy Smith and Amber Smith, of Troy, 6-4, 6-1 in the finals. The top-seeded Chaudhry and Campbell, who became the first doubles team to advance to districts in school history, outlasted the No. 3 seed of Meredith Orozco and Holly Riley, of Troy, 6-3, 7-5, in the semifinals.
Shawnee senior Kenzie Detrick finished second for the third straight year in D-II singles, losing to the top seed Nellessen, 6-0, 6-1. The No. 2 seeded Detrick defeated the No. 3 seed Sophia Navas-Davis, of Greenville, 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.
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