Bison netters overpower Lexington

LEXINGTON -- The McCook High School varsity tennis team claimed 8-of-9 matches and the junior varsity won 7-of-13 matches in a dual Tuesday at Lexington.

The Bison return to Lexington Saturday for the Lexington Invitational. The tournament starts at 9 a.m.

McCook 8, Lexington 1

Varsity Singles

1 Connor Larson def S. Burch, 8-1

2 Nate Crick def C. Hock, 8-2

3 Asher Brooks def J. Bliven, 8-0

4 Austin Larson def C. Araujo, 8-3

5 Scott Friehe lost to S. Long, 8-2

6 Tony Bieck def S. Evans, 8-6

Varsity Doubles

1 Brooks/A. Larson def Bliven/Araujo, 8-3

2 Friehe/Bieck def Long/Evans, 9-7

3 C. Larson/Crick def Burch/Hock, 8-1

"The team continued to play well, sweeping all three doubles matches," said McCook tennis coach Matt Wiemers. "No. 2 doubles came down to another close finish. Scott and Tony were down 6-3, but battled back to win the match 9-7.

"They just started to click and played some outstanding tennis. Once they settled down, it seems like they focused more on keeping the ball in play and became more consistent with their ground strokes.

"Once we get this corrected and stop giving up a big lead, these guys will be in great shape. They both play with a lot of desire and when its on the line, they seem to find a way to come through lately.

"In singles play, we came away with 5 victories to close out the dual. I was happy with our singles play, as it has been a weak spot for us this season. The team pretty much dominated the matches as the scores indicate, and it was nice to see everyone have the success they had today.

"Going into the Lexington Invite this weekend, I am glad to see the team building momentum and play with the confidence they have shown. It will be a tough invite, in which they guys will play 6 matches.

"We will scale things back in practice the next couple of days to rest the team and prep for the invite. We still have a lot of areas we can improve on to get better. I am pleased to see the team continue to head in the right direction."

JV Singles

John Huffman lost to J. Monter, 6-4

Ethan Hardin def D. Rowe, 6-3

Cameron Foster lost to M. Maguire, 6-2

Zach Baker lost to J. Sheldon, 6-2

Tony Conroy lost to D. Jacobs, 6-5

Paul Douglas def O. Garcia, 6-1

Grant Wilcox def L. Farrell, 6-1

Taylor Rivera lost to H. Bran, 6-2

J.P. Tapia def L. Farrell, 6-2

JV Doubles

Huffman/Hardin def Monter/Rowe, 6-4

Foster/Conroy lost to Maguire/Sheldon, 6-2

Baker/Douglas def Jacobs/Garcia, 6-3

Wilcox/Rivera def Farrell/Bran, 6-3

"The junior varsity also had a strong day winning 7 of the 13 matches played," Wiemers said. "It was nice to be able to take the whole team, as some of them have not played a meaningful match since the Hasting duel. I have seen improvement in most of them and we have had many of them moving up and down in our challenge matches.

"It was great for them to play against an opponent other than someone the team. Next week we will also be able to get them all matches (at North Platte and Holdrege) and some more playing time. With the promising younger players we have on the team, more court experience is the best ingredient in developing their game."