Bison girls tennis team opens season with two victories

LEXINGTON -- The McCook High School girls tennis team opened the 2007 spring season Tuesday at Lexington with a 9-0 sweep of Hershey and an 8-1 win over the host school.

McCook will host North Platte at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Bison/Elks Courts.

McCook 9, Hershey 0

Varsity Singles

1 Hanah Swanhorst def. Ivy Kuroki, 8-3

2 Hannah Putz def. Molly Bodenhamer, 8-6

3 Melissa Lyster def. Marguerite Dorr, 8-0

4 Amy Lester def. Amanda Wolfgang, 8-0

5 Michelle McKenna def. Rachel Arnett, 8-1

6 Alli Lester def. Katelin Highland, 8-2

Varsity Doubles

1 Lyster/Amy Lester def. Wolfgang/Arnett, 8-1

2 McKenna/Alli Lester def. Dorr/Martinez, 8-1

3 Swanhorst/Putz def. Ransdel/Sullivan, 8-1

Junior Varsity Doubles

Brianna Watkins/Corinne Burger def. Duggan/Schneider, 8-1

Christie Burrows/Audrie Krepcik def. Olson/Murphy, 8-0

Cassie Olson/Cody Korus def. Haase/Smith, 8-0

Amy Been/Abi Burrows def. Duggan/Schneider, 8-1

Erica Kinne/Kirstie Hiatt def. Olson/Murphy, 8-0

Jessica Jankovits/Stacy Howell def. Haase/Smith, 8-0

Amy Jo Stone/Kelsey O'Dea def. Stearns/Petska, 8-0

Brooke Burton/Olivia Walter def. Reeves/Friesell, 8-1

"We opened play against Hershey sweeping all three doubles matches," said McCook tennis coach Matt Wiemers.

"With two new doubles teams playing together for the first time, I was pleased with how well they performed.

"Michelle and Alli played well together and did a great job at the net. They also covered the court and helped each other at times when one was out of position. They are both seniors and their playing experience really aided their effort.

"Melissa and Amy played a decent match at one doubles. They did well at limiting their errors and they put away quite a few net opportunities.

They also hit their ground strokes consisently, which kept Hershey on the defense.

"In singles play, Hanah Swanhorst played a solid match. She was very efficent and kept the ball in play. When Hanah is hitting her first serve as well as she did, she creates opportunities to win some easy points.

"We need to work on her approach shots and coming to the net.

"Once she gets comfortable with coming to the net, her game will become extremely difficult to stop. As a sophomore playing her first matches, I am pleased with her effort and performance.

"In junior varsity play, the girls didn't lose a match. (Assistant) coach (Tara) Michaelis was impressed with their play and said she saw lots of improvement.

"We have some excellent junior varsity players, who are only going to get better with experience. "We are excited with how well they are developing and the effort they are giving.

McCook 8, Lexington 1

Varsity Singles

1 Hanah Swanhorst lost to Kelsey Ondrak, 9-7

2 Hannah Putz def. Terah Maloley , 8-4

3 Melissa Lyster def. Emilia Monter, 8-3

4 Amy Lester def. Kristin White, 8-2

5 Michelle McKenna def. Sarah White, 8-5

6 Alli Lester def. Steph Straka, 8-3

Varsity Doubles

1 Lyster/Amy Lester def. Ondrak/K. White, 8-0

2 McKenna/Alli Lester def. Monter/Maloley, 8-6

3 Swanhorst/Putz def. S. White/Straka, 8-3

Junior Varsity Singles

Brianna Watkins def. Keny Bran, 6-1

Christie Burrows def. Jessica Bliven, 6-3

Cassie Olson def. Bethany Randel, 6-1

Corinne Burger def. Rachel Ostrom, 6-4

Cody Korus def. Natalie Dones, 7-5

Audrie Krepcik def. Meghan McKeone, 6-0

kirstie Hiatt def. Jacey Lans, 6-0

Amy Been def. Camilia Pacheco, 6-1

Junior Varsity

Doubles

Amy Been/Abi Burrows def. Lans/Pacheco, 6-2

Erica Kinne/kirstie Hiatt def. Keny/Bliven, 7-5

Jessica Jankovits/Stacy Howell def. Randel/Ostrom, 6-4

Amy Jo Stone/Kelsey O'Dea def. Dones/McKeone, 6-2

Brooke Burton/Olivia Walter def. Lans/Pacheco, 6-1

"Once again the team got off to a great start by taking all three doubles matches," Wiemers said. "Amy and Melissa picked up their play and rolled to an 8-0 win.

"Their play at the net was impressive and they made very few errors. They hit quite a few first serves, which set themselves up for some easy points. They have a lot to improve upon, but I'm glad to see them off to a good start.

"Hannah Putz picked a nice win in singles play. The match was tight up to a 5-4 lead, but Hannah went on a 3-0 run and closed out the match. I was happy to see Hannah play through a match where she didn't have her best game.

"Like Hanah Swanhorst, once she gets comfortable at the net, she will make things a lot easier for herself. But Hannah was consistent enough with her ground strokes to pick up the win.

"The junior varsity earned another shut out victory by taking all 13 matches played. They won 9 of the 13 matches by a marginal amount and continued to play well.

"The future years of Bison tennis look promising, as long as the girls continue to put in the time to get better.

"There is plenty of potential in our younger players, but they have to continue to work on the fundamentals and play as much as they can. Experience and repetition are the big keys to them getting better."