Another year, another step forward for Conner and Loree Hazelrigg.

Bishop LeBlond’s twin sister act and doubles partners fell just one match shy of a medal at the Missouri State Tennis Championships in Springfield after suffering a first-round loss to the event state champions. With a pair of wins Friday in the consolation bracket, the junior duo posted a 2-2 record in the competition and advanced one round farther than it did last season.

“I’m sure there’s some disappointment there, but hopefully they’ll keep it in perspective,” Bishop LeBlond coach Chris Losson said. “We had a great season team-wise and so did they as a doubles team.”

The Hazelriggs faced a familiar foe in Saturday’s consolation semifinal round in Emmy Bird and Brydie O’Connor — the Notre Dame de Sion doubles team that prevailed during Thursday’s team championships. But LeBlond’s shot at revenge didn’t start well when the Storm broke the Golden Eagles in the first game of the match.

The LeBlond combo never found much

momentum the rest of the way and struggled on the way to a 6-2, 6-1 defeat.

“We just couldn’t hold it together. I felt like we had a chance to take that (second) set, and we just didn’t,” Losson said. “It didn’t seem like we were in sync.”

Some consolation came well after the Hazelriggs had bowed out of the tournament. LeBlond’s first-round opponent — Christine Schlafly and Lauren DeRousse of Westminster Christian Academy — went on to win the Class 1 state title in three sets. In the first round, the Hazelriggs took the Westminster duo into a first-set tiebreaker before dropping the match.

“They’re a tremendous team, and we were right there with them,” Losson said. “I’m glad that they went 2-2. It shows you how close things can be down at state, and I hope they can build on it for next year.”

As a team, the Golden Eagles advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 1997 on the way to a fourth-place finish, while Benton senior Kerstyn Bolton qualified in the Class 1 singles portion but dropped both of her Friday matches.