PHS tennis teams stay on a roll

Posted 9/16/14

“Pretty exciting weekend,” said PHS head coach Ray Bieber, saying it was the first time in his memory that Powell’s boys and girls have both beaten Kelly Walsh. The boys took four of five matches and the girls won three in Casper. Later in the …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

PHS tennis teams stay on a roll

Posted

Panther Boys No. 1 singles, girls No. 3 doubles stay undefeated  

Powell High School’s tennis teams continue to look as strong as they have in years, taking three of four duals with Casper’s high schools on Saturday.

“Pretty exciting weekend,” said PHS head coach Ray Bieber, saying it was the first time in his memory that Powell’s boys and girls have both beaten Kelly Walsh. The boys took four of five matches and the girls won three in Casper. Later in the day, the boys swept Natrona County 5-0 while the girls lost 4-1.

“We still have to improve. We still have to do some things better,” Bieber said. “But I think overall we’re playing pretty well and have a good attitude, good team chemistry.”

Boys No. 1 singles player Cody Akin continued his success by picking up two more wins and running his record to an unblemished 7-0.

Also rolling along was the girls No. 3 doubles team of Hattie Pimental and Madi Morrow. They’re 7-0 after beating their Casper counterparts on Saturday.

All three doubles teams on the boys side — Matt Brown and Jeffrey Pool, Kristian Stenlund and Blaze Flores and Dallin North and Miles Rumbolz — won both their matches.

Powell won four of the five matches that went to split sets and all six sets that went to a tiebreaker.

The teams’ success came on a day that began with leaving Powell at 5 a.m. Saturday and not returning until 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

“It’s good play the two matches in one day, because that’s what happens at regionals,” Bieber said. “But it is such a long trip.”

At the top of the boys lineup, Akin, a junior, defeated Kelly Walsh’s Nathan Woodward 6-3, 6-2, and then Natrona County’s Hunter Kuhn, 7-6(5), 6-1.

Kuhn was one of the best players Akin has faced this season and Akin “beat him pretty handily in the second set, so I was happy with that,” said Bieber.

Sterling Cozzens posted a split at No. 2 singles, losing to K.W.’s Tucker Bower 6-4, 6-0 before beating N.C.’s 7-6(6), 6-4 Mike Langmade.

“That was a real big win for him,” Bieber said of Cozzens’ victory against Natrona.

Brown and Pool, the No. 1 doubles team, posted a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 win over Tanner Hildebrand and Matt Paris of Kelly Walsh before beating Jake Pierce and Sam Rosevich 6-1, 6-3.

Bieber called it a great weekend for the PHS seniors.

At No. 2 doubles, junior Stenlund and sophomore Flores topped K.W.’s Drew Fritzler and Zach Whipps 6-2, 6-0 and then trumped N.C.’s Streeter Boatright and Conor Frankland 6-1, 6-1

At No. 3 doubles, North and Rumbolz triumphed over Kelly Walsh’s Zach Sixbey and Lyle Kruse 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, then beat Natrona’s B.J. Vandervoort and Chase Leinonen 7-6(5), 6-0.

Bieber said both the No. 2 and No. 3 squads are continuing to play really well.

At No. 1 singles on the girls side, Cydney Barrus lost 6-1, 6-0 to Allyn Harris of Kelly Walsh and 6-0, 6-0 to Julianne Soler of Natrona County.

Laura Bright lost 7-5, 6-2 to K.W.’s Ally Richards and 6-1, 6-0 to Jaclyn Soler of N.C. at No. 2 singles.

Josie Brinkerhoff and Rachel Anderson — playing at No. 1 doubles — came back to beat Kelly Walsh’s Raelynn Malson and MacKenzie Chadderdon 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 before losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Lydia Gallup and Lilly Lower of Natrona County.

The No. 2 doubles team of Aimee Kawano and Kelsi Barrus beat Emily Applegate and Kelli Bennion of Kelly Walsh, 6-4, 7-6(5), before losing 6-4, 6-1 to Jordan Jennings and Mariah Spearman of Natrona County — the duo’s first loss of the year.

Bieber said both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams played really well against Natrona County.

Pimentel, a freshman, and Morrow, a junior, beat Kelly Walsh’s Kristen Boothe and Sheyenne Thompson 6-1, 7-6(3) before winning 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Crystal Gallup and Maddie Cox of Natrona County at No. 3 doubles.

Powell will travel to Cody today (Tuesday) for a 4 p.m. matchup with the Broncs and Fillies, then play host to Sheridan at 2 p.m. Friday and Gillette at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Comments