McCook's Brooks, Chmiel place 2nd at state meet in No. 2 doubles

Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Corrected cutline The McCook High School No. 2 doubles team of Jennifer Chmiel, left, and Natalie Brooks finished second at the 2005 Nebraska Class B State High School Girls Tennis Championships, which took place Thursday and Friday at Lincoln's Woods Complex. Brooks and Chmiel posted a 40-4 record.

Duo posts

40-4 record

LINCOLN -- The McCook High School No. 2 doubles team of Natalie Brooks and Jennifer Chmiel were the runnersup in their division at the Nebraska State High School Girls Class B Tennis Championships.

The Class B state tournament took place at Lincoln's Woods Tennis Complex.

Brooks and Chmiel defeated No. 2 doubles teams from Waverly 6-2, 6-3, Kearney Catholic 6-3, 6-3 and Grand Island Central Catholic 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) before falling to 6-0,6-4.

"Natalie and Jennifer played with the same consistency at state as they have had all season," said McCook tennis coach Matt Wiemers. "They had little trouble against Waverly and picked up a nice second round win.

"In their third round match against Kearney Catholic, they jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back. They served the ball well and worked together covering the court. They played a solid match and earned a great win.

"Against GICC in the semifinals, it came down to a grudge match. Both teams were matched up evenly and neither team wanted to lose. They got off to slow start and dropped the first set 6-4.

"In the second set they lead early and won big 6-2. The third set they once again jumped out to a 3-0, only to have GICC go on a 4-0 run to take the lead 4-3. From there on it was back and forth.

"With some excellent net play and team work they pushed the match into a tiebreaker. You could tell who was going to win, as the girls were fresher physically and had a better mental focus.

"The match lasted 2 1/2 hours and took a lot out of both teams. I was glad to see them come out on top, as they were given more time to rest for their next match.

"In the championship match, York played well and they didn't make many errors. They were not big hitters, but they placed the ball well. Natalie and Jennifer didn't serve as well as they had been and they made some unforced errors they usually did not make.

"It was a disappointing loss, but overall the girls had a solid tournament. They ended the season with a 40-4 reord and runnerup medals.

'With Natalie graduating, we will need to find a new doubles team. It will be tough to replace her and the great attitude she played with.

It is sad to see our senior class move on. They have been a part of Bison tennis since their eighth grade year. They are all going to be missed and have been huge in the building of our program's success. But we have some excellent younger players coming up and all they need is experience."

In No. 1 singles, McCook's Jessica Battreall posted a 1-1 record. She defeatedf Crete 6-3, 6-1 and lost to Omaha Duchesne 6-2,6-0.

"Jessica had a strong showing at state and went 1-1," Wiemers said. "Against Crete, Jessica played well and got off to a early lead. Her serving was a huge factor in the outcome of the match, as she recorded four ace serves. She did a great job of getting into a groove and then setting the tempo of the match.

"Against Omaha Duchesne, Jessica lost to a solid opponent. Any thing Jessica tried didn't work. She got knocked out of the tournament by a better player, who went on to the semifinals on Friday.

"Jessica finished the season with an 11-21 record. She did a great job playing No. 1 singles and competing with success by the close of the season.

In No. 2 singles, McCook's Angela Abercrombie went 0-1. She lost to GICC 6-2, 6-0.

"Angela's defeat was a disappointment, as I felt she would advance far into the tournament," Wiemers said. "She lost to a decent opponent, who went on to play in the semifinals Friday.

"Angela had a great season and played well day in and day out. I liked how consistent she was and the confidence she played with.

"Angela finished the season with a 23-8 record. She improved so much the past two years and will be tough to replace next season. She was a key contributor to our team's success this season."

In No. 1 doubles, McCook's Kim Serbousek and Tausha Escher posted a 1-1 record. They defeated Gretna 6-1, 6-0 and lost to Ogallala 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

"They played a solid match against Gretna and built some momentum going into their second round match against Ogallala," Wiemers said. "Versus Ogallala they got off to a slow start and dropped the first set 6-1. But they did a great job of keeping their composure and evened out the match by taking the second set 6-3.

"In the final set they went back and forth trading games until Ogallala started clicking and ended their season with a 6-3 third set win.

"Kim and Tausha's season record stands at 28-12. They too will be missed and will also be tough to replace. They did a great job of playing doubles together all four years.

"Each year they improved and competed with more and more confidence. They were instrumental in our success the past three years."

Wiemers said he wanted to thank the players and their parents for their contributions to a successful 2005 season.

"I want to thank the team for the great season they had and all their hard work. I also want to thank the great parent support we recieved. They are awesome parents and helped out the team in many ways. I will miss them all next year."

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