Sports
Tennis team hosted tourney
Tuesday, 20 March 2012 by Chuck Kelly
Balls were booming across the nets and the parking area was packed at the BHS tennis courts March 2nd as head coach Kyle Larson and his team hosted the Big Red Invitational.
"Overall, this was a very successful tournament, one of the strongest tournaments we have hosted in years," Larson said. "Five or six of the teams that were here are top 25-rated in the state. Top to bottom, the competition was strong."
Sophomore Jacob Daugherty got things started, taking first place in the "A" Boys Singles with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Dillon Launius from Vandergrift.
In the "B" Boys Singles, another sophomore, Bobby Brooks, finished fourth after dropping the final match 5-7, 0-6.
Daniel Barron and Ryan Jones took a sixth place in the "A" Boys Doubles.
Freshman Riley Wesson and Zayn Evans won Consolation in the "B" Boys Doubles.
In the "A" Mixed Doubles, Jordi Alfeche and his partner Mayra Perez, another freshman, finished fourth after an 8-6 loss in a match for third place to a Georgetown East View tandem.
In "B" Mixed Doubles, Leslie Coleman and Samantha Alvarez won Consolation while seniors Philip Cesani and Kaila Martin took third place.
Krista Harvey and Jessica Grogan had a third place finish in "B" Girls Doubles.
"It was a great opportunity for our kids to get some more tough match play as well as create more spark for tennis in this area," commented Larson. "It was also cool to see so many kids from other schools showing support for our teammate Casey Casilhas (rehabbing after serious surgery) by purchasing shirts to help her and the family with medical expenses."
The previous week, Tiger Tennis competed in the Mertz Tournament in Corsicana.
Daugherty won the "A": Boys Singles ; Brooks finished sixth in the "B" Boys Singles; Mindy Thompson was ninth in "A" Girls Singles; Lauren Kendall finished 11th in "B" Girls Singles; Baron/Jones were sixth in "A" Boys Doubles; Evans/Coleman finished 11th in "B" Boys Doubles; Haley Phillips/Shannon Knight were 10th in "A" Girls Doubles; the duo of Grogan and Harvey finished third in "B" Girls Doubles; Alfeche/Perez took fourth place in "A" Mixed Doubles; and Cesani/Martin were fifth in "B" Mixed Doubles.
"The Big Red Invitational was our last tournament until after Spring Break when we will compete in the Mike Nesbit Tournament at Midway March 23rd," said Larson.
