Bison tennis girls drop decision at Holdrege

HOLDREGE -- McCook High School's tennis girls managed just one win in varsity singles matches Tuesday, April 13, in a 6-3 loss at Holdrege.

The Bison opened the meet by winning two of three double matches, but the Dusters dominated singles matches to gain the team win.

"Holdrege has a strong team, and the girls knew that they would be in for a tough road dual," said McCook head coach Matt Wiemers. "With three players back from last years team, we matched up well with Holdrege. The girls got off to a great start in doubles, winning two of the three matches played.

"In singles action, the girls were unable to use the momentum built in doubles play, dropping five of the six matches played. The lone win came at No. 5 singles where Kaylee Samway played a solid match. She really hit her ground strokes well and was very consistent."

"Kaylee competes well and plays hard. She also plays with a positive attitude, which keeps her mentally tough."

Samway won an 8-2 decision for McCook's lone varsity singles win. Doubles winners for the Bison included Samway and Danielle Barenberg, plus Jessica Jankovits and Kelsey O'Dea.

"At No. 2 doubles, Kaylee and Danielle teamed up for a convincing 8-3 win," Wiemers said. "I was pleased with how Kaylee and Danielle played together to close out the match. They have not played together the past couple of weeks, but that didn't seem to bother them. They did a nice job of hitting some big first serves and putting away volleys at the net."

Despite the loss, Coach Wiemers is encouraged that his team is competing with tough opponents.

"The past couple of weeks we have run into some good teams that are in our district," he said. "It's encouraging to see the girls compete with those teams in close matches. Thursday we will have a pre-district meet at the Lexington Invite. That meet will show us where we stand at this juncture in the season and how much we will need to improve. The team needs to regain their composure and work on gaining back some confidence they have lost."

The Bison girls will enter the Lexington Invitational Thursday, April 15, starting at 10 a.m.

Junior varsity

Coach Wiemers took his entire squad to Holdrege, and all the junior varsity players competed in doubles matches. Holdrege won 13 of the 20 JV doubles matches contested.

"We were able to take all 38 girls to play and they all got some much needed playing experience," Wiemers said. "They are all working hard in practice and showing much improvement since the start of the season. It was nice to see them all compete and having fun in the process. I have a nice squad to work with this season."

HOLDREGE 6, McCOOK 3

Varsity Singles Match Results

No. 1 -- J. Wells, Holdrege, def. Jessica Jankovits lost to , 8-0.

No. 2 -- R. Strydom, Holdrege, def. Kelsey O'Dea, 8-3.

No. 3 -- S. Ehresman, Holdrege, def. Laura Brooks, 8-4.

No. 4 -- M. Wagner, Holdrege, def. Brooke Burton, 8-6.

No. 5 -- Kaylee Samway, McCook, def. A. Fuehrer, 8-2.

No. 6 -- J. Sturgis, Holdrege, def. Danielle Barenberg, 8-5.

Varsity Doubles Match Results

No. 1 -- Wells/Ehresman, Holdrege, def. Brooks/Burton, 8-2.

No. 2 -- Samway/Barenberg, McCook, def. Wagner/Sturgis, 8-3.

No. 3 -- Jankovits/O'Dea, McCook, def. Fuehrer/Strydom, 8-5.

McCook Junior Varsity Doubles Match Results

Brooklynn Trew/Nichole Eisenach def. K. Ritter/K. Weed, 6-3.

Alyssa Smith/Kaylee Henrickson def. K. Ritter/K. Weed, 6-4.

Jenna Smith/Katie Unger lost to K. Ritter/K. Weed, 6-1.

Kassidy Gillen/E. Polly def. K. Geisinger/P. Geiger, 6-2.

Kelsey Gillen/Anna West def. K. Geisinger/P. Geiger, 6-1.

Betsy Hardin/Sydney Clapp lost to K. Geisinger/P. Geiger, 6-2.

Sara Larrington/Alli Been def. M. Barnes/S. Spiegel, 6-5.

Tricia Mitnik/Marisa Esch lost to M. Barnes/S. Spiegel, 6-5.

Angela Brown/Alesha Brunswick lost to L. Murillo/J. Silver, 6-2.

Syndey Ulrich/Kayla Spilinek def. C. Sunblade/M. Nelson, 6-3.

Hollie Eiler/Rachel Leitner lost to C. Sunblade/M. Nelson, 6-3.

Kasha Messersmith/Katie Seligman lost to C. Sunblade/M. Nelson, 6-5

Shelby Henthorn/Karli Blank def. M. Jensen/E. Buck, 6-5.

Alex Witt/Lisa Schoup lost to C. Milius/B. Williams, 6-1.

Kari Funk/Megan Gray lost to S. Solorio/J. Lind, 6-3.

Sara Savage/Ashley Allison lost to K. Upthagrove/E. Stewart, 6-0.

Shelby Henthorn/Karli Blank lost to C. Milius/B. Williams, 6-4.

Alex Witt/Lisa Schoup lost to M. Jensen/E. Buck, 6-0.

Kari Funk/Megan Gray lost to K. Upthagrove/E. Stewart, 6-1.

Sara Savage/Ashley Allison lost to S. Solorio/J. Lind, 6-0.

Copyright 2010 McCook Daily Gazette. All rights reserved. This material may

not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.