The tennis season swung into action on Tuesday for the Powell Panthers, heading down to Sweetwater County to take on Rock Springs and Green River. Both Powell teams defeated Rock Springs 3-2 on the girls’ side and 4-1 on the boys’ side before suffering  4-1 losses to Green River.

GIRLS:

POWELL 3, ROCK SPRINGS 2

New faces filled out the Panther girls’ lineup, starting with Naomi Whipple moving up to the No. 1 singles spot.

She earned a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory, battling back from a second set ankle injury to earn the win.

“Naomi had a great day,” coach Joe Asay said. “She did have an ankle injury in the second set which kind of slowed her up a bit. She fought through it, got her taped up and went back at it.”

At the No. 2 singles’ spot, Sophie Czirr, up from her doubles spot last year, battled in a three set loss after winning a first set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 1-6.

Kyra Morrow and Anneliese Peterson made the jump to No. 1 doubles after finishing last season at No. 3 doubles, earning a 6-2, 6-2 win to start the year.

“It was good to keep them together. They had a pretty good two set win,” Asay said.

At No. 2 doubles the Panthers turned to Noelle Leighton and Isabelle Urbach, who were both making their first appearances on the varsity squad, dropping a pair of close sets 5-7, 4-6.

With the teams tied 2-2, the Panthers pulled out the victory at No. 3 doubles via Bailee Allred and Ava Stearns, who earned a straight set win 6-4, 6-3.

“Good for them to get a straight set win,” Asay said. “A good 3-2 win over the Rock Springs girls down there.”

GREEN RIVER 4, POWELL 1

Continuing the day in Green River, the Panthers ran into a difficult matchup but battled throughout the lineup.

“We were really tested there with the Green River kids,” Asay said. “They put together a pretty good program.”

Whipple once again claimed victory at No. 1 singles, this time in straight sets 6-3, 6-0.

Czirr battled at No. 2 singles and fell in straight sets 3-6, 1-6, but Asay felt the scoreline didn’t reflect the match.

“Sophie had a pretty good battle at the No. 2 two singles spot. The score doesn’t really reflect it,” Asay said. “Stepping into the No. 2 singles spot is a real challenge.”

Morrow and Peterson fought until the end at No. 1 doubles, but fell in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 4-6.

The girls flip-flopped at the No. 2 and 3 doubles, which meant that Allred and Stearns competed in the No. 2 spot. Moving up resulted in a tight contest, but Allred and Stearns fell 6-2, 3-6, 4-6.

Urbach and Leighton fell at No. 3 doubles, losing 6-7 (4-7) and 1-6 in straight sets.

BOYS:

POWELL 4, ROCK SPRINGS 1

On the boys’ side the Panthers had some familiar faces in new positions, starting with Nathan Preator moving to the No. 1 singles spot.

He started the season strong, winning 6-2, 6-0 in his first match.

“It’s a good opportunity for him moving there,” Asay said. “He continues to get better.”

The No. 2 singles spot went to Taeson Schultz who moved up from No. 1 doubles, winning 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).

The lone loss against Rock Springs came at the No. 1 doubles with Ryan Barrus and Trevion Solberg, who lost a difficult three set match that included two tiebreakers 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7).

In No. 2 doubles, Powell earned the win in a tough match, as Isaac Stensing and Alex Watts lost the first set 1-6, then won the two following sets 6-4, 6-2.

Slotting in at No. 3 doubles was a pair of sophomores, with Memphis Solberg and Calvin Opps earning a 6-2, 6-3 win.

“It was a lot of fun in our three doubles spot,” Asay said. “A couple sophomore guys showing promise. They did their job in two straight sets, fun to see them compete.”

GREEN RIVER 4, POWELL 1

After the early morning win the Panthers made the trip to Green River, dropping a more difficult matchup 4-1.

Preator got the lone victory for Powell, winning 6-2, 6-2.

In No. 2 singles, Schultz lost a close battle, losing 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 2-6 in a difficult three set match.

No. 1 doubles featured a close match where Trevion Solberg and Barrus lost 4-6, 4-6.

“That one doubles match was a good match,” Asay said. “Not a win, but that’s not all that we measure. Essentially just a one break set loss there.”

Another close match came at No. 2 doubles, where Stensing and Watts lost 6-4, 2-6, 5-7.

At No. 3 doubles, Memphis Solberg and Opps lost another three set match 6-3, 4-6, 3-6.

HOME MATCHES

Powell will play at home for the first time this weekend, taking on the two Gillette schools on Saturday.

“We look forward to getting out on the courts,” Asay said. “We will spend a few days on the court working on some consistency with hitting the ball and how we serve. Continuing to work on getting out there to compete.”

Asay said the boys will likely have similar matchups this weekend, while the girls will work Elaina Kousoulos into the lineup after she was not eligible to compete in the first matches.

Matches against Campbell County start at 10 a.m. and matches against Thunder Basin begin at 2 p.m. at the Powell High School tennis courts.