McCook tennis girls dominate North Platte

NORTH PLATTE -- McCook High School's girls tennis team turned in a dominating performance at North Platte Tuesday, April 20.

The Bison girls lost just one match all day with wins over the Bulldogs varsity and junior varsity squad. McCook's varsity topped North Platte, 8-1, to up its season record to 5-3. The Bison JV won every match against their North Platte counterparts.

"The team continues to play some great tennis," said McCook head coach Matt Wiemers. "North Platte returned their entire squad from last season, plus we beat them at home the first week of the season, so the team knew North Platte would come to play. There were several close matches, but today the final outcome favored us. This was a good 'team win' for the girls. I'm very proud of the the way they battle for every game and the never-give-up attitude."

The Bison opened the varsity meet by sweeping all three doubles matches, with wins by the teams of Laura Brooks and Brooke Burton, Kaylee Samway and Danielle Barenberg, and Jessica Jankovits and Kelsey O'Dea. Coach Wiemers said Brooks and Burton fell behind 5-2 in No. 1 doubles before the Bison duo battled back for a 9-7 victory.

"That was a huge win for those two," Wiemers said. "The girls were making quite a few unforced errors and were not hitting many good ground strokes. But we had a good conversation at the 5-2 crossover and told them to chip away one game at a time. I am pleased with their effort and final outcome of the match. But they have to get off to a better start in their matches. They tend to be slow starters and that will get them if they don't address the problem."

The No. 2 doubles match was close all the way, with neither team ever able to stretch the lead to more than one game.

"Down 6-5 the girls were able to hold serve and then get a big service break to take a 7-6 lead," Wiemers said. "Once they got that break, you could tell they had taken control of the match. Kaylee hit some big serves in the final game and Danielle cleaned up at the net to close out the match. I like the fight the girls showed today and the progress they are making. They are getting better in areas that they needed to work on, and it is showing."

Key singles wins

Two key wins for the Bison came at the top two positions in singles. In No. 1 singles, Jessica Jankovits prevailed for a hard-fought 8-6 win.

"Jessica built an early lead at 7-4, only to see her opponent come back and pull within a game at 7-6," Coach Wiemers said. "Jessica was able to hold serve to finish the match. What a great effort she gave to build a sizable lead at 7-4. Jessica needs to keep her focus throughout the match and do a better job of finishing."

Kelsey O'Dea claimed a 9-7 win in No. 2 singles.

"Kelsey matched up evenly with her opponent and the match score reflected that," Wiemers said. "The lead went back and forth throughout the duration of the match, only to see Kelsey outlast her opponent. Kelsey was not hitting her ground strokes on a consistent basis, which hurt her. But she did a great job of adjusting her game and changing the tempo of the match to close things out.

"It was not a pretty win, but it was a win Kelsey can look back to and say 'I didn't play well, but still found a way to win.'"

JV domination

The McCook junior varsity continued to dominate play with a sweep of the JV matches Tuesday.

"The team continues to improves weekly and I am pleased with the development of our players," Wiemers said. "Their hard work and dedication to become better tennis players is paying off. Aside from the loss to Holdrege last week, the junior varsity has not be beat. The girls improve to 7-1 on the season in dual play and look forward to hosting Hershey Thursday."

McCook is scheduled to entertain Hershey in varsity and JV action Thursday, April 22, at the Senior High School courts. Opening matches begin at 4 p.m.

The Bison will also compete in the Scottsbluff Invitational Saturday, April 24, starting at 10 a.m. CST.

McCOOK 8, NORTH PLATTE 1

Varsity Singles Match Results

No. 1 -- Jessica Jankovits, McCook, def. C. Cain, 8-6.

No. 2 -- Kelsey O'Dea, McCook, def. R. Southard, 9-7.

No. 3 -- Laura Brooks, McCook, def. M. Milroy, 8-2.

No. 4 -- K. Callaghan, North Platte, def. Brooke Burton, 8-2.

No. 5 -- Kaylee Samway, McCook, def. T. Hlavaty, 9-7.

No. 6 -- Danielle Barenberg, McCook, def. H. Anderson, 8-2.

Varsity Doubles Match Results

No. 1 -- Brooks/Burton, McCook, def. Cain/Southard, 9-7.

No. 2 -- Samway/Barenberg, McCook, def. Callaghan/Hlavaty, 8-6.

No. 3 -- Jankovits/O'Dea, McCook, def. Milroy/Anderson, 8-3.

Junior Varsity Singles Match Results

Brooklynn Trew, McCook, def. K. Hall, 6-2.

Nichole Eisenach, McCook, def. K. Hall, 6-1.

Junior Varsity Doubles Match Results

Alyssa Smith/Kaylee Henrickson, McCook, def. L. Carl/K. Arensdorf, 6-2.

Katie Unger/Jenna Smith, McCook, def. L. Carl/K. Arensdorf, 6-1.

Elise Polly/Kassidy Gillen, McCook, def. K. Schultz/J. Gifford, 6-1.

Anna West/Kelsey Gillen, McCook, def. K. Schultz/J. Gifford, 6-1.

Betsy Hardin/Sydney Clapp, McCook, def. K. Schultz/J. Gifford, 6-3.