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Tiger tennis hosts tourney
Fort Scott High School hosted a four-team varsity tennis tournament Thursday afternoon with Tiger entrants winning three of the 12 matches they played.
Senior Jill Query, 7-14 for the season, was 1-2 in No. 1 singles. She lost to Kelsey Mayes of Independence and Nicole Stringer of Labette County, both by scores of 8-6, and beat Bobbi Shanks of Columbus, 8-1.
"Jill had a good tournament and could have very easily finished 3-0 instead of 1-2," Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr said. "She played good, solid tennis this afternoon and if she continues this next week may be able to surprise a few people in tournament play."
Junior Brittney Doherty, 4-8, was also 1-2 as she played No. 2 singles. She lost to Megan Baxter of Independence, 8-1, and Paige Almond of Labette County, 8-3, before beating Jordan Jameson of Columbus, 8-6.
"Brittney continues to get better with each match," Barr said. "Sometimes it's hard to remember that she is a first-year player the way she has improved. She got a little frustrated in her match against LC, but with more experience I think she will be able to avoid the problems that caused."
Freshmen Taylor Bailey and Lauren Caulfield, 1-7, were 1-2 in No. 2 doubles. They lost to Bayley Connor and Talor Smith of Independence, 8-0, beat Hailey Kroger/Amberly Richins of Labette County, 8-6, and lost to Malarie Mosler/Shayla Guinn of Columbus, 8-1.
"Taylor and Lauren made a big step up today in how they played," Barr said. "As freshmen, they have really been thrown into the fire now competing at the varsity level. But today they really showed some improvement in their doubles play and it paid off with their first varsity win. Both of these girls have a lot of potential and should do good things for our program in the coming years."
Seniors Molly Karleskint and Danielle Miller, 3-13, were 0-3 in No. 1 doubles. They lost to Ashlee Carr/Kelby McGrath of Independence, 8-0, Kelli Kietzman/Chelsea Shultz of LCHS, 8-5, and Maddy Overman/Jordan Allen of Columbus, 8-3.
"Molly and Danielle played some of their best tennis of the season, but just couldn't sustain it for long enough periods to pull out a win," Barr noted. "They are being more aggressive and playing solid doubles at times. They are so close to a break through and hopefully it will come next week."
The Tigers go to Independence Monday for the Southeast Kansas League Tournament. Then, under the new post-season format, they will enter a Class 4A Regional on Thursday. Where they will go for this tournament should be determined early next week.
"This was a nice way to end the regular season part of the schedule," Barr said. "Although we didn't win as many matches as we would have liked, there was obvious improvement in many cases. Everyone continues to play hard and give a good effort and that is all a coach can ask of the players."