Lady Bison tennis improves to 8-0

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

By MATT WIEMERS

Special to the Gazette

McCook 7 Ogallala 2

Grant Strunk /McCook Daily Gazette McCook Bison Amy Been chases down a hit in singles action Tuesday afternoon against Ogallala at the Bison Tennis Courts in McCook.

Varsity Singles

1 Brianna Watkins def. E. Huckfeldt, 9-8 (7-3)

2 Hanah Swanhorst lost to M. Abbott, 8-5

3 Melissa Lyster def. L. Havermann, 8-3

4 Amy Lester def. E. Abbott, 8-1

5 Cody Korus def. M. McCroden, 9-8 (7-5)

6 Amy Been lost to M. Reiss, 8-6

Varsity Doubles

1 Lyster/Lester def. M. Abbott/Havermann, 8-4

2 Korus/Been def. Reiss/McCroden, 8-2

3 Watkins/Swanhorst def. E. Abbott/Huckfeldt, 8-1

In doubles play, the girls swept all three matches to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Melissa and Amy finally defeated Ogallala and got the monkey off their backs. They have not beaten Ogallala in three years, so this was a huge win for the girls.

With the victory, Melissa and Amy improve their record to an impressive 13-1. They have gotten off to a great start and have defeated some quality teams, but they need to continue to play hard and dominate their opposition.

In singles play, the girls won 4 of the 6 matches played. Brianna picked up a tightly contested match, winning in a tie-breaker 9-8 (7-3).

That was an awesome match to watch. Brianna did a great job of establishing a sizable lead early in the match, only to see her opponent fight back to a 8-7 score. Brianna was able to put away the match on a strong serving effort and some great net play.

Earlier in the season these were the matches that Brianna came out on the losing end. It's very encouraging to see her able to find ways to put away her opponents now.

In another evenly-matched game, Cody picked up a 9-8 (7-5) win. This was a very close match from start to finish. Cody was more consistent hitting ground strokes and made fewer unforced errors in the end. She has been putting in more time with the ball machine and it has benefited her well.

Cody works hard and has a great attitude, plus she is a very competitive player.

Junior Varsity Singles

Jessica Jankovits def. K. McQuillan, 6-1

Cassie Olson def. D. Clough, 6-0

Renetta Rawlings def. J. Carr, 6-2

Audrie Krepcik def. M. Dack, 6-2

Abi Burrows def. L. Buzzah, 6-1

Kelsey O'Dea def. J. Fisher, 6-0

Brooke Burton def. J. Fisher, 6-0

Laura Brooks def. L. Allen, 6-0

Amy Jo Stone def. J. Wood, 6-1

Stacy Howell def. K. Armstrong, 6-1

Bailey Lauer def. W. Brown, 6-1

Kaylee Henrickson def. S. Borer, 6-0

Junior Varsity Doubles

Krepcik/Rawlings def. McQuillan/Clough, 6-2

Jankovits/Olson def. Dack/Carr, 6-4

O'Dea/Burrows def. Buzzah/Fisher, 6-3

Burton/Brooks def. Allen/Wood, 6-1

Henrickson/Stone def. Fisher/Armstrong, 6-1

Howell/Lauer def. Brown/Borer, 6-0

What a dominating performance by the Junior Varsity, winning all 21 matches played. They kind of struggled against Holdrege last week and I think they wanted to correct the way they played. It is a reassuring feeling to know we have some very promising talent waiting their turn.

They have all improved so much this season. I'm really proud of the way they are playing and the success they are having on the court.

The girls need to remember that their time will come, as long as they continue to work at getting better.

McCook 9 Holdrege 0

Varsity Singles

1 Brianna Watkins def. B. Allmand, 8-6

2 Hanah Swanhorst def. E. Bergman, 8-2

3 Melissa Lyster def. M. Cox, 8-2

4 Amy Lester def. A. Nedrig, 8-0

5 Cody Korus def. D. Clayton, 8-3

6 Amy Been def. Ehresman, 8-5

Varsity Doubles

1 Lyster/Lester def. Cox/Nedrig, 8-2

2 Korus/Been def. Clayton/Ehresman, 8-5

3 Watkins/Swanhorst def. Allmand/Bergman, 9-7

The girls got off too another great start taking all three doubles matches.

The best match of the day was at #3 doubles where Brianna and Hanah picked up a 9-7 win. Those two have really come a long way in doubles.

They both don't care to much for doubles, but they are getting better with each match they play. They both mentioned today that they are enjoying playing doubles and feel like a doubles team. I would have to agree, they are getting a better concept of how to play doubles. They are having fun and that is what is all about...if you can't have fun, then maybe it isn't worth playing.

In singles play, the girls swept all six matches to close out the duel 9-0.

Hanah picked up a nice win to improve her record at #2 singles to a 12-2.

She is playing well as of late and I'm glad to see she is steadily progressing as the season plays on. I still need to work with Hanah on setting the tempo of the match.

Right now she is having success on the court, so we won't change too much.

Amy Lester had a very impressive day winning all four of her matches and cruising to easy wins in singles play, 8-1, 8-0. She has improved so much.

Her ground strokes are much more consistent and she is becoming more confident with her serves. She has really elevated her play this season.

Junior Varsity Singles

Danielle Barenberg lost to E. Reiners, 6-1

Olivia Walter lost to J. Wells, 6-2

Madeline Shaddock lost to A. Macke, 6-4

Lyndsay McLaren lost to H. Damrow, 6-5

Rachel Krepcik lost to M. Malm, 6-1

Kayla Messinger lost to P. Ropers, 6-4

Mary Spilinek lost to K. Fulmer, 6-2

Alyssa Smith lost to B. Burgeson, 6-4

Elise Polly def. M. Wagner, 6-3

Katie Unger def. J. Sturgis, 6-4

Kelsey Gillen lost to A. Fuehrer, 6-3

Nichole Eisenach def. K. Ritter, 6-3

Sandra Garbrecht def. R. Damrow, 6-5

Kirsten Cappel def. P. Geiger, 6-4

Ashley Noltensmeier def. K. Ritter, 6-4

Junior Varsity Doubles

Barenberg/Walter lost to Reiners/Wells, 6-1

Shaddock/McLaren def. Macke/Damrow, 6-4

Krepcik/Messinger lost to Malm/Ropers, 6-4

Spilinek/Smith lost to Fulmer/Wagner, 6-5

Polly/Smith def. Burgeson/Sturgis, 6-2

Unger/Gillen def. Fuehrer/Ritter, 6-2

Cappel/Garbrecht def. Damrow/Geiger, 6-4

Eisenach/Noltensmeier def. Geiger/Damrow, 6-2

The girls had much more success in doubles than singles today, due to the fact that this was the first singles match some of them have played this season.

Overall, they played well and continue to improve. It was nice to be able to get all 34 girls some court experience. They have been a very patient group to work with, and this next week they will have some more opportunities to play.

I do appreciate their hard work and great attitudes.

The Lady Bison will travel to North Platte Tuesday with action starting at 2 p.m.

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