Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Eagles soar past Coogs
AHS wins district opener against crosstown rival
By Mark Wilson
Reporter-News Staff Writer

Even a desperately needed rainstorm couldn’t spoil Abilene High’s District 4-5A team tennis season opener.

The Eagles had secured an insurmountable 10-5 advantage over crosstown rival Cooper on the Cougars’ home courts when the four remaining matches were moved to Rose Park Tennis Center as darkness approached. However, the rain that hit the Abilene area caused those matches to be postponed until 2 p.m. today, at Cooper.

“We’re tickled to death,’’ said AHS head coach Fred Scott. “I thought the kids played real well. We had some kids come through that we really needed to.’’

The AHS coach said that three crucial victories for his team came on the girls side — Liz McCracken over Caroline Scott at No. 4 singles, Emily Antilley over Kristen Culotta at No. 5 singles and Jessica Paup and Kama Scott over Lindsay Hoefer and Pare Radillo at No. 2 doubles.

“All of those were huge,’’ he said. “I knew we probably would win the majority of the boys matches, but you know they could go either way.’’

The Eagles swept all seven of the completed boys matches, but CHS head coach Leann Scott felt the score should have been closer.

“I just felt like we beat ourselves in two or three matches,’’ she said. “I almost felt like we should have won this thing 16-3. We made too many errors. It wasn’t because we weren’t trying. Maybe it was because we haven’t been in that situation before.’’

Among the girls singles matches completed, three of the four went three sets.

The four singles matches set to be completed today are: Steven Herrera of AHS against Reid Levrets at No. 5 boys singles, Brent Eaton of AHS against Chris Prachyl at No. 6 boys singles, Rebecca Watkins of CHS against Kama Scott at No. 1 girls singles, and Lindsay Hoefer of CHS against Jessica Paup at No. 3 girls singles.

The victory will also serve as the third-place match from last weekend’s AISD Team Tennis Invitational, which would have pitted the Cougars against the Eagles but was never played.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,’’ Fred Scott said of the remaining district competition. “You’ve got to be in good shape when you’ve beaten the best teams. Of course, you can’t quit playing. The rest of the district is going to be pretty tough.’’

BOYS

Singles — Beau Cox, AHS, def. David Frush 6-3, 6-0; Jacob Herman, AHS, def. Chris Davenport 6-2, 6-4; Bryce Hicks, AHS, def. Hunter Williams 6-2, 6-3; Nathan Johnson, AHS, def. Reed Stafford 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles — Cox-Johnson, AHS, def. Davenport-Clayton Smith 6-2, 6-2; Herman-Hicks, AHS, def. Frush-Stafford 6-2, 7-6; Steven Herrera-Brent Eaton, AHS, def. Williams-Reid Levrets 7-5, 6-1.

GIRLS

Singles — Morgan Smith, CHS, def. Meagan Langston 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Liz McCracken, AHS, def. Caroline Scott 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Emily Antilley, AHS, def. Kristen Culotta 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Sarah Byrd, CHS, def. Catherine Roark 7-6, 6-4.

Doubles — Smith-Scott, CHS, def. Langston-McCracken 6-2, 6-2; Kama Scott-Jessica Paup, AHS, def. Lindsay Hoefer-Pare Radillo 4-6, 6-0, 6-1; Culotta-Shelly Garcia, CHS, def. Antilley-Roark 6-2, 6-4.

Mixed doubles — Watkins-David Carillo, CHS, def. Quinton Walker-Stephanie Cox.

Contact assistant sports editor Mark Wilson at 676-6775 or wilsonm@abinews.com. We are on the Web at sports.texnews.com.