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Bison netters own Lexington Invitational
LEXINGTON -- The McCook High School boys tennis continued its roll Saturday by winning the Lexington Invitational.
The Bison rolled up 32 points, edging out runnerup Scottsbluff by 5 points.
Holdrege and Kearney Catholic were third and fourth with 17 points, followed by Alliance with 14, Lexington 10 and Lincoln Christian 7.
"The team gave a great effort and came away with another team title," said McCook tennis coach Matt Wiemers. This was our second invite we have won this year and we earned back to back titles at Lexington. The team is playing well, but we talked about how much better we can get.
"I like how hungry this team is to compete and how much they want to improve. With three weeks left in the season they will have to pick up their intensity and continue to work hard."
The Bison squad will play at North Platte Tuesday and at Holdrege Thursday. Both meets start at 4 p.m.
1 Singles-Brandon Crick
5-1, 2nd place
lost to J. Freidlein, Scottsbluff, 8-5
def J. Linch, Lexington, 8-1
def N. Messbarger, Kearney Catholic, 8-2
def T. Hohensee, Holdrege, 8-3
def M. Mracek, Alliance, 8-1
def C. Boehr, Lincoln Christian, 8-2
"Brandon picked up some quality points for us and also earned some important wins," Wiemers said. "I know he was disappointed with his loss to Scottsbluff. But he a great job of bouncing back and didn't lose a match the rest of the tournament.
"He struggled a little with his serving, but his ground strokes were pretty solid. Overall I felt Brandon played well and I was pleased to see him pick up his game after his first round loss."
2 Singles-Joel Putz
6-0, 1st place
def P. Sulu, Scottsbluff, 8-2
def S. Burch, Lexington, 8-0
def P. Messbarger, Kearney Catholic, 8-2
def A. Fulmer, Holdrege, 8-4
def C. McGhehey, Alliance, 8-1
def D. McClintock, Lincoln Christian, 8-0
"Joel played great and earned some quality wins," Wiemers said. "His wins against Scottsbluff, Alliance and Holdrege will be helpful to his seeding chances. He hit his first serve more consistently and that was a big factor to his success.
"Joel does a good job of adjusting to his opponents and finding ways to beat them. He doesn't force things and that puts pressure on his opponents to make mistakes. His points were huge to our team's success and we will need him to continue to contribute."
1 Doubles-Brad Potthoff- Brett Burton
6-0 1st place
def Keller-Nagaki, Scottsbluff, 8-2
def Barmore-Zlatkovsky, Lexington, 8-1
def O'Brien-O'Niell, Kearney Catholic, 8-2
def Chase-Ruybalid, Holdrege, 8-1
def Petersen-Lierk, Alliance, 8-5
def Gipson-Henslee, Lincoln Christian, 8-1
"Brett and Brad played as well as they have all season," Wiemers said. "They picked up quality wins against Scottsbluff, Alliance, and Kearney Catholic. They did a nice job of communicating with eachother and finishing points.
"They still need to be more aggressive at the net and hit their first serve more consistently. When they improve in those two aspect of the game, they will be a very successful team.
"They have earned a lot of points for us at each invite we have played in this season. They are playing well now, but it's exciting to see how good they can be as they continue to improve."
2 Doubles-AsherBrooks-Austin Larson
4-2 3rd place
def McCafferty-Waite, Scottsbluff, 9-7 def Cardenas-Bliven, Lexington, 8-6
lost to Bryson-Carranza, Kearney Catholic, 8-5
def Soneson-Elliott, Holdrege, 8-0
lost to Roberts-Dobrovolny, Alliance, 8-6
def Loos-Garay, Lincoln Christian, 8-1
"Asher and Austin played well at times and earned a couple of quality wins against Scottsbluff and Holdrege," Wiemers. "They need to become more consistent and do a better job of finishing points.
"Overall they played well, but they need to hit more first serves and not make so many unforced erors. For two underclassmen, they are having a super season. They are improving each time they play together and they will become more consistent with practice.
"We will need them to continue to pick up some points for us, as their wins are big to our team success."