Bison entries solid on opening day of state tennis meet

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Looking at team scores after the opening day of the Nebraska Class B State Girls Tennis Championships Thursday, May 16, the usual dominant suspects from the eastern side of the state were at the top of the list.

But a few western schools, including McCook, made their presence known with solid days in day one at the state meet at the Nebraska Tennis Center in Lincoln.

The Bison girls got one of four entries to the semifinals, and two other McCook entries came up one tough loss short of reaching the semifinal round.

Seniors Kaylee Samway and Kassidy Gillen won three straight matches in No. 1 Doubles to advance to Friday's semifinals. Samway and Gillen, seeded third, were scheduled to face Kearney Catholic's second-seeded duo of Lauren Messbarger and Michelle Messbarger early Friday. The winner gained a berth in the No. 1 Doubles state championship match Friday afternoon, while the loser played for third place Friday afternoon.

Senior Brooklynn Trew won two consecutive matches in No. 1 Singles to reach the quarterfinals. Trew, seeded fourth, battled fifth seed Kathryn Carlson of Omaha Duchesne, but the Omaha senior prevailed in three sets to advance and end Brooklynn's season.

THE BISON No. 2 Doubles team of senior Sara Larington and junior Sydney Pfeifer also won two matches to reach Thursday afternoon's quarterfinals. After a second-round upset of York's sixth-seeded team, Pfeifer and Larington lost to third-seed Lizzy Waite and Emily Sullivan of Lincoln Pius X, 6-0, 6-4.

McCook's No. 2 Singles entry, senior Alli Been, dominated her first round match with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Christina Villarreal of Scottsbluff. Been couldn't counter Brooke Muesch of Kearney Catholic in the second round and dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision.

McCook head coach Matt Wiemers was pleased with the efforts of all his players on the first day of state competition. He was especially pleased with his top doubles team, who will place at state for the second straight year. Samway and Gillen finished third at No. 2 Doubles last season.

The senior Bison tandem were dominant all day. Samway and Gillen opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over South Sioux City, followed by a 6-1, 6-1 victory over a Gering team they had beaten several times already this season.

In the quarterfinals, the McCook team saw familiar faces across the net. Breanna Obermier and Alexa Obermier of Holdrege upset Elkhorn's sixth-seeded team in the second round. But Samway and Gillen cruised to another win over their Holdrege foes in a 6-1, 6-1 decision.

"Kaylee and Kassidy did a great job all day," Wiemers said. "They played some great tennis. Honestly, they weren't pushed in all three rounds."

Samway and Gillen have lost twice this season to the Kearney Catholic doubles team, including a tough 8-6 decision.

"Hopefully the third time is the charm," Wiemers said.

TREW cruised to two wins in No. 1 Singles, beating Blake Spanjer of Crete, 6-0, 6-1, followed by a 6-0, 6-3 win over Mirisa Hernandez of Wilber-Clatonia. Brooklynn then faced Kathryn Carlson of Omaha Duchesne Academy in the quarterfinals. Wiemers said Trew got off to a great start, leading 4-1 in the first set before Carlson took a timeout with a shoulder injury.

"That kind of took a little momentum away from Brooklynn," Wiemers said. Trew went on to win the first set, 6-2, then the two battled in the second set back and forth.

"Brooklynn got down early, but she just kept fighting and fighting. Things didn't go her way at the end and she lost 7-5," Wiemers said.

Carlson grabbed momentum in the final set to win 6-2 and end Trew's season.

" I commend Brooklyn for her effort," Wiemers said. "It was a heartbreaker to see her get beat. She went down battling, and that's what Brooklynn stands for -- she's just a battler."

Pfeifer and Larington started their No. 2 Doubles competition with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Gabriela Amador and Shaynie Porter of South Sioux City. They upset York's sixth-seeded duo of Hayley Nienhueser and Taylor Petersen, 7-1, 1-6, 7-5, then lost to Pius in straight sets in the quarterfinal round.

Wiemers said his No. 2 Doubles team rallied from a 5-2 first-set deficit against York, then the wheels fell off in the 6-1 second-set loss. But Pfeifer and Larington recovered in the final set, battling back and forth before pulling out the close win.

The Bison coach said the Pius X team was fresh after finishing their second-round match, then waiting for Pfeifer and Larington to advance.

"The girls were pretty worn out by the time they got to that match," Wiemers said. "The girls played well. I appreciate Sydney and Sara's efforts. They had a solid day. It was fun to watch them compete."

BEEN dominated her Scottsbluff foe in the opening round with a shutout win and a great performance. Wiemers said her second-round foe from Kearney Catholic had a super match.

"It was her day to win," Wiemers said of Muesch. "She played very well. I thought Alli hit some great shots, but the Kearney Catholic girls just had an answer for everything. Alli battled her hard but came up short."

After Thursday's opening day, Omaha Skutt Catholic led the Class B team standings with 36 points. Grand Island Central Catholic was second with 30 points, followed by Lincoln Pius X with 28, then McCook, Holdrege and Elkhorn South tied for fourth with 26 points each. Kearney Catholic and Omaha Duchense Academy each had 22 points in seventh place.