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Tigers starting season shorthanded
Fort Scott High School head tennis coach Lynn Barr doesn't plan to field a full team when he takes his girls team to Parsons Thursday to open the season at a tournament there.
Although there are several players with a good amount of varsity experience returning, there are also many inexperienced first-year and freshmen players who need time on junior varsity before possibly moving up later this season.
"We're going to start the season without a full varsity team," Barr said before Tuesday's practice. "We're going to primarily use girls who have some experience. I want the other girls to start on JV. They need experience before we throw them onto the varsity."
Seniors Jill Query, Danielle Miller and Molly Karleskint and junior Megan Anglin will be going to Parsons although what positions aren't final yet. Query, who has been in the program all four years of high school, was primarily a doubles player last season, compiling a record of 9-17 with primary partner Erin Zingre, who has graduated. Miller is in her third season after skipping last year. Karleskint and Anglin played together most of the season as the No. 2 doubles team, going 4-14 together. Karleskint is in her third year and Anglin in her second.
Feni Amin is the Tigers' other senior. She recently had surgery but will come out for her first year of tennis as soon as she recovers. Brittany Doherty is a junior also in her first year. Angela Love is a first-year sophomore and Taylor Bailey, Lauren Caulfield and Anya Sackett are all freshmen.
Independence won the Class 4A State championship last year and the three-time defending Southeast Kansas League champion is the favorite to repeat again. However, most of the other league schools were hit hard by graduation.
"After Indy, you've got Coffeyville, who has a outstanding singles player back," Barr says. "But a lot of league schools lost most of their players. Chanute basically lost all six varsity players. So after Indy, who knows who could be up there in the league?
There is a change in the post-season format this year as well. The Southeast Kansas League Tournament will be held October 1 and will be followed three days later by the Regional Tournament.
The Regional will have only four to six teams depending on how many teams are assigned to it. In the past, Regionals had as many as 10 teams.
The top four singles players and doubles teams at the Regional will advance to a new Sub-State Tournament that will be played two days later. The top four singles and doubles finishers there will go on to the State Tournament.
"Before a player might have had to play six matches in one day to get to State," Barr noted. "Now, she will play three, maybe four, in a day and if she moves on, she gets a day's rest and then plays three more.
"More schools can host a Regional (eight as compared to four previously)," Barr continued as he pointed out the advantages of the new format. "There's less travel and less time out of school. And if it rains early in the morning, there's still a chance to be able to get the tournament in."
Thursday's action begins at 3 p.m. in Parsons. The junior varsity team will host a tournament Monday at 3 p.m.
2007 FORT SCOTT HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TENNIS
All tournaments begin at 3 p.m. unless noted.
Varsity
Thursday.......................at Parsons
Aug. 30....Labette County at Parsons
Sept. 6.................at Independence
Sept. 11...............at Independence
Sept. 18.....................at Spring Hill
Sept. 20.......................at Pittsburg
Sept. 25................at Nevada, 4:30
Sept. 27...............FORT SCOTT INV.
Oct. 1.......Southeast Kansas League
Tournament at Independence,
8 a.m.
Oct. 4......Regional Tournament, TBA
Oct. 6...Sub-State Tournament, TBA
Oct. 12-13..
...State Tournament, TBA
Junior varsity
Monday................FORT SCOTT INV.
Sept. 4....Labette County at Parsons
Sept. 10...FORT SCOTT INV., 1 p.m.
Sept. 17........................at Parsons
Sept. 25................at Nevada, 4:30