Bison tennis boys tough at Kearney triangular meet

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

KEARNEY, Nebraska -- The McCook High School boys tennis varsity squad picked up a pair of dual meet victories at Kearney Monday afternoon.

The Bison played tough in claiming a 7-2 win over host Kearney Catholic, followed by a 6-3 decision over Grand Island Central Catholic.

"The team played some great tennis en route to earning two dual wins," said McCook head coach Matt Wiemers. "I really dislike playing on Mondays because we had not gotten to practice coming off the weekend. Plus, we didn't get to hold a practice on Friday due to our competing in York, and our junior varsity didn't practice on Friday either. As a coach, it's important to me to work with the team the day before we compete and go over fundamentals and work on match-play situations."

Meet format change vs. Kearney Catholic

In the opening dual against the host Stars, the regular meet format was changed, with singles matches contested first. The Bison had no problems with the switch, winning five of six matches as Connor Palic, Cody Jankovits, Mack Alspaugh, Lucas Post and Reid Wilcox picked up victories. McCook won two of the three varsity doubles matches against Kearney Catholic, with the teams of Palic and Jankovits plus Tristan Thomas and Wilcox claiming dominant wins.

Coach Wiemers said his squad gained momentum with the success in the opening singles matches against the host team. He said his teams of Palic/Jankovits and Thomas/Wilcox both played consistent and did a nice job of controlling the net.

Coach Wiemers said his team got off to a slow start in the match against G.I. Central Catholic. Wiemers said his squad didn't get much of a break between the dual meets, and GICC's first match of the day was against the Bison, with hot, windy weather conditions.

"We looked a little tired and GICC played fresh," Wiemers said.

McCook's second match returned to the regular format of doubles matches first. Central Catholic claimed two of three varsity wins, with the No. 3 doubles team of Thomas and Wilcox earning McCook's lone win.

Coach Wiemers said Palic and Jankovits dropped a tough 9-7 decision in No. 1 doubles.

"Neither team mounted more than a two-game lead," Wiemers said. "The guys played well at the start and took an early lead at 3-2. We held the lead at 7-6, but GICC went on a three-game run to close out the match. The guys played well, but GICC was very aggressive at the net and that really created problems for C.J. and Connor."

Bison rally in singles matches

The Bison turned the match around with five of six wins in singles competition against GICC, with Jankovits, Thomas, Alspaugh, Post and Wilcox earning match victories.

"It was a total team effort and I was very pleased with the outcome of their play," Wiemers said. "Cody (Jankovits) played one his better matches of the season,

cruising to a 8-2 win (in No. 2 singles). He set the tempo of the match and made his opponent play to his liking. And C.J. did a nice of mixing up his pace on his ground strokes. He really kept his opponent out of rhythm.

"Lucas, Mack and Tristan also played well and picked up wins. They had to work for the wins, but they really did a nice job keeping the ball in play. They were consistent with their ground strokes and they put away volleys at the net."

The Bison varsity team improved to 4-1 with the dual meet wins.

McCook dominated junior varsity competition Monday, winning 21 of 22 total singles and doubles matches against Kearney Catholic and GICC.

McCOOK 7, KEARNEY CATHOLIC 2

Varsity Singles Match Results:

No. 1 -- Connor Palic, McCook, def. R. Messbarger, 8-5.

No. 2 -- Cody Jankovits, McCook, def. A. Cantral, 8-1.

No. 3 -- M. Hiemstra, KC, def. Tristan Thomas, 8-3.

No. 4 -- Mack Alspaugh, McCook, def. T. Antillon, 8-1.

No. 5 -- Lucas Post, McCook, def. T. Donovan, 8-1.

No. 6 -- Reid Wilcox, McCook, def .A. Keating, 8-6.

Varsity Doubles Match Results:

No. 1 -- Palic/Jankovits, McCook, def. Cantral/Antillon, 8-0.

No. 2 -- Messbarger/Hiemstra, KC, def. Alspaugh/Post lost. to 8-6.

No. 3 -- Thomas/Wilcox, McCook, def. Donovan/Keating, 8-0.

___

Junior Varsity Singles Match Results:

Drew Bredvick, McCook, def M. McIntier, 6-2.

Tate Stang, McCook, def. D. Lawter, 6-0.

Chase Midkiff, McCook, def. C. Shoemaker, 6-0.

Josh Escher, McCook, def .J. Rodehorst, 6-0.

Jon Spilinek, McCook, def. S. Prellwitz, 6-0.

Kalan Stamm, McCook, def. R. Rodgers, 6-0.

Robin Suda, McCook, def. N. Spellman, 6-0.

Junior Varsity Doubles Match Results:

Stang/Bredvick, McCook, def. McIntier/Lawter, 6-2.

Spilinek/Midkiff, McCook, def. Shoemaker/Rodehorst, 6-1.

Escher/Burkey, McCook, def. Rodgers/Prellwitz, 6-0.

Stamm/Suda, McCook, def. Spellman/Prellwitz, 6-0.

_

McCOOK 6, GRAND ISLAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC 3

Varsity Singles Match Results:

No. 1 -- A. Wirth, GICC, def. Connor Palic, 8-1.

No. 2 -- Cody Jankovits, McCook, def. Q. Harshberger, 8-2.

No. 3 -- Tristan Thomas, McCook, def. T. Butler, 8-3.

No. 4 -- Mack Alspaugh, McCook, def. J. Rohweder, 8-3.

No. 5 -- Lucas Post, McCook, def. D. Fruin, 8-4.

No. 6 -- Reid Wilcox, McCook, def. T. Hayes, 9-7.

Varsity Doubles Match Results:

No. 1 -- Wirth/Harshberger, GICC, def. Palic/Jankovits, 9-7.

No. 2 -- Fruin/Hayes, GICC, def. Alspaugh/Post, 8-2.

No. 3 -- Thomas/Wilcox, McCook, def. Butler/Rohweder, 8-3.

___

Junior Varsity Singles Match Results:

D. Nordhues, GICC, def. Drew Bredvick, 6-3.

Tate Stang, McCook, def. G. Harding, 6-3.

Chase Midkiff, McCook, def. K. Johnson, 6-2.

Josh Escher, McCook, def. J. Noble, 6-1.

Jon Spilinek, McCook, def. J. Fay, 6-2.

Kalan Stamm, McCook, def. R. Vitera, 6-4.

Robin Suda, McCook, def. C. Wardyn, 6-0.

Junior Varsity Doubles Match Results:

Stang/Bredvick, McCook, def. Nordhues/Harding, 6-1.

Spilinek/Midkiff, McCook, def. Johnson/Noble, 6-4.

Escher/Burkey, McCook, def. Vitera/Fay, 6-2.

Stamm/Suda, McCook, def. Wardyn/Nordhues, 6-4.

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