Shawnee Mission East tennis player Sneed picks Ohio State

Though she waited until mid-April to sign, Shawnee Mission East’s Olivia Sneed said it took just one visit to decide she wanted to go to Ohio State.

Sneed, a five-star tennis prospect according to the Tennis Recruiting Network, signed Wednesday afternoon in a small ceremony in the school’s library. She was joined by Brooks Kendall, who signed with UMKC.

“It’s a relief to sign,” Sneed said. “I knew it was going to happen on Monday and that I was going to call Ohio State, but then after it happened I was super relieved.”

Sneed and her family moved from Wellington, Kan., to Prairie Village before her freshman year to bolster her chances of receiving offers like the one from the Buckeyes. Ohio State is ranked No. 34 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Sneed, who also plays for KC United Tennis, competed for just one year on the high school level but went undefeated at 24-0 and won the Class 6A state singles title last fall while helping the Lancers capture a third straight team title. She was The Star’s All-Metro girls tennis player of the year.

After 15 years at Sumner Academy, boys basketball coach Dan Parra has decided to leave for Park Hill South.

Parra, who is a resident of the Park Hill South community, has yet to be approved by the board, which will meet April 24.

“They are very active in their school, their fan base is great and their facilities are second to none,” Parra said. “I think they have some of the best facilities in the state of Missouri. Education-wise, I think it is at the top of school districts in the state of Missouri. Those are all things that drew me to move my family there and now to be the basketball coach and teach there.”

The opening was created when Rick Zych stepped down to return to Bishop Miege after two seasons at Park Hill South. He had previously coached for 17 years at Miege.

“We want to see somebody that is going to build a program up and stay a little while,” Park Hill South athletic director John Carr said. “Rick did a great job for us and we hate to see him go, but we think Dan is going to come in and do a great job. We aren’t going to miss a beat.”

Parra started coaching girls basketball in 2000 at Sumner Academy and switched to the boys program in 2008. He led the Sabres to back-to-back state championships in 2010 and 2011. This season, Sumner went 10-13 and lost to eventual champion McPherson in the Kansas Class 4A Division I state quarterfinals.

This story was originally published April 16, 2014 at 8:13 PM with the headline "Shawnee Mission East tennis player Sneed picks Ohio State."