Powell High School head tennis coach Ray Bieber said this week that he wanted his squads to do a “bit better” against Cody than they did the last time around.On Tuesday, he got his wish and then some.The Panther boys rebounded from a resounding 4-1 defeat to Cody on Sept. 3 to take down the Broncs, 3-2.

“It was unbelievable — especially how much we'd gotten beat the last time,” said Bieber.

The boys were generally defeated in two quick sets a couple weeks ago, but on Tuesday, PHS pushed CHS to three sets in every single match-up.

The Lady Panthers fell 4-1, but also showed signifcant improvement. They gave Cody a serious run for their money — going to three sets in three of the five matches.

Because of all the tight battles, the meet with Cody went some five hours. Had the girls' third sets not been shortened to 10-point tiebreakers, “We would have gone til 11 (p.m.),” said Bieber.

“We played very well overall,” the coach said. “It was a great team effort; I can't say enough about our play.”

For the Panthers, No. 1 singles player Pablo Garces took advantage of a Cody squad missing its top player, beating fill-in Stephan Munari, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Freshman Justin Lynn at No. 2 singles beat CHS' Nick Manini 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

No. 1 doubles duo Levi Anderson and Sam Wise fell 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, while Eric Curtis and Robert Speiser lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. At No. 3 doubles, Todd Lewis and Tyler Morgan won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

On the Lady Panthers side, No. 1 singles player Lisa Schiermeister lost in an amazingly close match to Cody's Jill Ross, 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Bieber said the competitors had some 20-hit rallies, including those that approached five minutes in duration.

“It was just back and forth,” said the coach. “It was crazy.”

No. 2 singles player Brittany Feller broke through for a win over the Fillies' Christa Munari, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.

In doubles play, Emily Kath and Lacey Eckerdt fell 6-1, 6-3, Haylee Humphries and Shelby Walton narrowly dropped a 6-4, 7-6(3) decision, and Cecelie Lopez and Maggie Leitner were edged out 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-3.

In every single match, the Powell racqueteers bettered their scores from the previous Cody match-up.

“It was pretty exciting; it just shows how much we've improved this year,” said Bieber.

Meanwhile, this past weekend, the boys doubles teams won five of their six matches against Casper's high schools; the duos boosted the Panthers to a 3-2 win over Natrona County High School on Saturday.

“That was a big deal,” said Bieber.

In their other match-up, the Panther guys were edged out 3-2 by Kelly Walsh, while the Lady Panthers were nicked 3-2 by Natrona County, and 5-0 by Kelly Walsh.

For the boys, Garces lost 6-3, 6-2 to Kelly Walsh and 6-1, 6-3 to Natrona, while Lynn fell 6-0, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-4 to Kelly Walsh and Natrona, respectively.

Wise and Anderson spit their matches, falling 7-6(6), 6-0 to Kelly Walsh before rebounding to beat Natrona 6-4, 6-1.

Speiser and Curtis had an undefeated weekend, winning in three sets over K.W. (6-1, 3-6, 6-1) and in two against Natrona (6-0, 6-3). Lewis and Morgan had similar success, taking down Kelly Walsh 6-0, 7-6(3), and thumping Natrona, 6-0, 6-0.

On the girls side, Schiermeister fell to Kelly Walsh's Madison Graham in a tight 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 match, before rebounding to make quick work of Natrona's Jordan Hendricks (6-0, 6-3).

Feller lost to K.W.'s Lauren Bradley 6-2, 6-1, and Emma Gallup of Natrona 6-4, 6-3.

No. 1 doubles team Kath and BreaAnn Hollenbeck lost to Kelly Walsh 6-1, 7-6(1), and 6-3, 6-0 to Natrona. Behind them, Humphries and Walton fell to Kelly Walsh (6-2, 6-0), but took down Natrona decisively, 6-1, 6-1.

Cicily Bennion and Leitner were edged out 7-5, 7-5 by Kelly Walsh and lost 6-4, 6-0 to Natrona.

On Sept. 5, the PHS squads headed to Riverton for matches against the hosting Wolverines and Jackson High School, seeing mixed results.

The Lady Panthers swept Riverton 5-0, but had that score reversed by the defending state champion Jackson Broncs.

Schiermeister beat Riverton's Kelsey Fustos (6-2, 6-2), but lost to Jackson's Mady Gerard (6-0, 6-1).

Feller beat Emily Bray (6-4, 6-2), but lost to Madison Pachoe of JHS (6-0, 6-0). At No. 1 doubles, Kath and Eckerdt beat Riverton 6-4, 6-1, but lost to Jackson 6-1, 6-2.

Humpries and Walton won 6-1, 6-0, and lost 6-0, 6-2, while No. 3 doubles duo Hollenbeck and Leitner won in three sets over Riverton (6-7(9), 6-3, 6-3) but lost to Jackson (6-4, 6-4).

The boys lost to Riverton 5-0, and to Jackson by a 4-1 count.

For the guys, Garces fell 6-3, 6-2, and 6-4, 6-3 to Riverton's Randy McKinney and Jackson's Nate Trautenberg, respectively.

At No. 2 singles, Lynn lost to RHS' Quinton Harrison (6-2, 6-0) and Ben Trauner of JHS (6-1, 6-1).

Wise and Anderson lost to Riverton 6-3, 6-3 and Jackson 6-2, 6-2, while Lewis and Morgan fell 6-4, 6-3 and 7-5, 6-1. Soloai and Curtis lost to Riverton in three sets (7-5, 4-6, 6-4), and then broke through against Jackson in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).