Doubles win only highlight for RHS
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Sports/64930/
ROGERS — The Fort Smith Southside tennis teams swept the Rogers Mounties and nearly swept the Lady Mounties to start the new season Tuesday.
A doubles win by Karsyn Betts and Keely Dockins was the home team’s lone victorious match.
“ Karsyn and Keely were dominant in their doubles match, ” Lady Mounties coach Ronny Cowan said. “ Both of them in their singles match can play better than what they did. ”
Betts and Dockins, the team’s top two singles players, were beaten as the Lady Rebels swept the six singles matches.
“ I thought Southside has a real veteran, outstanding team, ” Cowan said. “ We had a lot of long points and the matches were long. We just couldn’t convert when we needed to. ”
“ It’s just the first match. I’m not discouraged. We battled hard and played hard. ”
The Mounties’ young team also battled hard against a veteran Rebels team.
“ Southside’s just tough, ” coach Steve Peck said. “ They’re good and it shows. ”
Peck said he expects his team, made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, to continue to improve this season.
“(The inexperience ) is a weakness right now but in the future it’s going to be a strength, ” he said. Bentonville-Van Buren
VAN BUREN — The Bentonville tennis teams started the season on a winning note by taking both matches Tuesday against Van Buren.
The Lady Tigers swept the singles 8-0 and won the doubles 3-1 for an 11-1 victory overall.
The Tigers beat the Pointers 12-2 overall, winning the singles 7-1 and the doubles 5-1.
“ For the first match of the year I was happy with the way things went, ” said Tigers coach Paul Pautsch.
In girls’ singles action, No. 1 Amy Anderson beat Jennifer Word 8-2. Bentonville’s Anna Bever, Arden Brazzeal, Oksana Hillyer, Kendall Kraus, McKenna Kraus, Morgan Ryan and Amanda DaCasta all won their singles matches.
The BHS doubles team of Bever and Brazzeal lost to sisters Jennifer and Jessica Word 8-4 while BHS teams Anderson / Kendall Kraus, McKenna Kraus / Hillyer and Ryan / Da-Casta won their doubles matches.
In boys’ action, BHS No. 1 Rex Chapman defeated James Hill 8-4.
Also winning in singles for Bentonville was Varun Shaw, Matthew Tabler, Zach Ellis, Michael Marquez, Ryan Dinsmore and Alex Eng. Only Matthew Suebert lost his singles match by an 8-6 score to Andrew McCowen.
In doubles, Chapman and Tabler fell to Todd Dunn and Kevin Bagwell 8-5. Brothers Zach and Brandon Ellis won their doubles match as did the team of Kevin Morris / Shaw, Tyler Brant / Corey Clay, Alex Asbell / Dinsmore and Caleb Fackler / Eng.
A select group of BHS tennis players will travel to Russellville on Thursday, Pautsch said.