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Bison duo third again at Class B state tennis meet
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The prep careers of two of McCook's top tennis players came to an end Friday, May 17, with more state tournament hardware.
The Bison girls' No. 1 Doubles team of Kaylee Samway and Kassidy Gillen repeated their third-place finish at the 2013 Class B State Meet. The state competition was held May 16-17 at the Nebraska Tennis Center in Lincoln.
The Bison senior duo breezed through the first three rounds of the No. 1 Doubles bracket Thursday with three straight wins to earn a return berth in the semifinals. Samway and Gillen faced a tough Kearney Catholic team of senior Lauren Messbarger and freshman Michelle Messbarger. McCook's team had lost to the Kearney Catholic duo twice earlier in the season, including an 8-6 decision at the Kearney Catholic Invite.
Samway and Gillen battled through a tough first set, but Kearney Catholic prevailed in a 7-6 (7-2) tiebreaker. McCook dropped the second set, 6-3, as the Messbarger girls advanced to the finals.
The McCook squad then faced the Grand Island Central Catholic sophomore team of Katherine Golka and Alexandra Rieke in the consolation finals. Kaylee and Kassidy turned in a strong effort in their final match for the Bison with a 6-1, 6-3 decision to claim their second-straight third-place state meet finish.
"We were thrilled getting third again," Samway said. "We were hoping last year wasn't just a fluke deal. I think we definitely did our best against Kearney Catholic -- they are just a really good team. I hate to say that they deserved to be there (in the finals), but they were good."
Teamwork is a big key to success in doubles tennis, and the Bison senior duo work very well together.
"I think we just have a really good feel for each other," Gillen said. "We know who's going to cover what. We played a lot of games outside of practice and outside of tournaments. We've played a lot of tennis together, so we know each other pretty well."
BISON HEAD COACH Matt Wiemers noted that both Samway and Gillen have recorded well over 100 match wins in their respective McCook careers, counting singles and doubles matches in dual meet competition and their doubles pairings in tournaments. Samway and Gillen won consecutive Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament titles, going undefeated in the conference meet in each of the last two years.
"That's quite an accomplishment," Wiemers said.
That statement also applies to the consecutive state meet third-place finishes, winning four of five state meet matches each of the past two years.
"I know they were disappointed in not getting to the finals this year, but they came out and played some great tennis," Wiemers said. "I'm real proud of the way they rebounded. Kearney Catholic is a good team and they put it to us in that second set, and you just wondered what they would have left in the tank. The girls came back inspired to play. They looked really good.
"They had a great year. Not only just Kaylee and Kassidy -- I'm real proud of them -- but the team as a whole. We had a lot of good sportsmanship comments from coaches and fans about our girls. Off the court, awesome kids. On the court, equally as well."
McCOOK'S THREEother state meet entries each won at least one match in Thursday's action.
Brooklynn Trew in No. 1 Singles and the Bison No. 2 Doubles team of senior Sara Larington and junior Sydney Pfeifer each lost in the quarterfinals after winning two straight matches Thursday. Senior Alli Been also won her first-round match at No. 2 Singles before a second-round loss ended her state meet.
The Bison finished sixth in the final Class B state meet team standings with 27 points. Kearney Catholic with fifth with 28 points, and Holdrege seventh with 26 points.
Omaha Skutt Catholic dominated the state meet, scoring 54 points to win the team title, with Elkhorn South second with 38 points.