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Saturday
March 20, 2010 Since 1922 |
Redemption must wait for Sterling tennis team
By Robert Chambliss
Correspondent Published October 31, 2009 LEAGUE CITY – A close loss to Atascocita in the team tennis playoffs two years ago left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Baytown Sterling players.
It’s still there after Friday’s rematch in the first round of the 2009 Region III-5A tournament at Clear Creek High School.
Atascocita won this time 10-2 in a match that was postponed from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. because of bad weather.
Along with the time change, the weather was also pounding the District 21-5A champion Rangers as it was a mere 50 degrees all day long.
“I thought we needed to get it started in doubles today,” Ranger coach Jan Strubbe said. “We didn’t do that, and it didn’t turn out like I wanted it to.”
The Rangers did win two of the doubles matches. However, it wasn’t enough as they dropped all three boys doubles matches.
The first match the Rangers won was Varun Ojha and Annie Tran in the mixed doubles division. They beat Bobby Jones and Katie Clayton 6-3, 6-2.
At that point the score was 2-1 Atascocita, not a big mountain to climb.
But Ranger after Ranger continued to fall to their Atascocita counterparts after that.
The Rangers did, however, grab the No. 1 girls doubles match. Rangers Kristie Kenny and Krista Bocksnick defeated Savannah Bryson and Dani McKissick 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Kenny felt that the day was disappointing, but her match was good.
“There was a lot of emotions coming into today,” Kenny said. “The way they beat us two years ago really had us wanting to beat them today.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t win today. We really wanted this victory.
“As far as my match went, I thought that I pushed myself really well. I put my heart out there, and I left it all on the court.”
For Strubbe, this was a sad loss, but a good overall season for the Rangers.
“I am disappointed with the loss,” the coach said. “We did get out-classed today, but we never quit fighting.
“The kids left it all out there. They are great kids, who worked hard all season long, and I have no complaints about this season.
“Their (the Eagles’) experience in the end got us, but all in all, it was a good season.”
The Rangers had their chances in the doubles round, but they dropped three of the four three-set matches early on.
This ends the team tennis season for the Rangers with an 8-4 record. They finished with a loss, but kept their heads held high.
“You can’t be mad about this result. We had a good season by winning the district, and we had a good time playing tennis,” Strubbe said.
Barbers Hill falls in regional
KATY – The Barbers Hill tennis team wrapped up its season Friday in a 14-0 loss to District 23-4A champion Lamar Consolidated.
“They were awful good,” Barbers Hill coach Tyler Thames said. “We competed hard. They were just an awful good team.”
Consolidated went on to beat No. 3 seed San Marcos in a second-round match and will play today in the semifinals.
“We had a good year,” Thames said of his District 19-4A runnerup squad. “Now we’ll take a little time off and get ready for spring tennis.”
Correspondent Published October 31, 2009 LEAGUE CITY – A close loss to Atascocita in the team tennis playoffs two years ago left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Baytown Sterling players.
It’s still there after Friday’s rematch in the first round of the 2009 Region III-5A tournament at Clear Creek High School.
Atascocita won this time 10-2 in a match that was postponed from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. because of bad weather.
Along with the time change, the weather was also pounding the District 21-5A champion Rangers as it was a mere 50 degrees all day long.
“I thought we needed to get it started in doubles today,” Ranger coach Jan Strubbe said. “We didn’t do that, and it didn’t turn out like I wanted it to.”
The Rangers did win two of the doubles matches. However, it wasn’t enough as they dropped all three boys doubles matches.
The first match the Rangers won was Varun Ojha and Annie Tran in the mixed doubles division. They beat Bobby Jones and Katie Clayton 6-3, 6-2.
At that point the score was 2-1 Atascocita, not a big mountain to climb.
But Ranger after Ranger continued to fall to their Atascocita counterparts after that.
The Rangers did, however, grab the No. 1 girls doubles match. Rangers Kristie Kenny and Krista Bocksnick defeated Savannah Bryson and Dani McKissick 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Kenny felt that the day was disappointing, but her match was good.
“There was a lot of emotions coming into today,” Kenny said. “The way they beat us two years ago really had us wanting to beat them today.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t win today. We really wanted this victory.
“As far as my match went, I thought that I pushed myself really well. I put my heart out there, and I left it all on the court.”
For Strubbe, this was a sad loss, but a good overall season for the Rangers.
“I am disappointed with the loss,” the coach said. “We did get out-classed today, but we never quit fighting.
“The kids left it all out there. They are great kids, who worked hard all season long, and I have no complaints about this season.
“Their (the Eagles’) experience in the end got us, but all in all, it was a good season.”
The Rangers had their chances in the doubles round, but they dropped three of the four three-set matches early on.
This ends the team tennis season for the Rangers with an 8-4 record. They finished with a loss, but kept their heads held high.
“You can’t be mad about this result. We had a good season by winning the district, and we had a good time playing tennis,” Strubbe said.
Barbers Hill falls in regional
KATY – The Barbers Hill tennis team wrapped up its season Friday in a 14-0 loss to District 23-4A champion Lamar Consolidated.
“They were awful good,” Barbers Hill coach Tyler Thames said. “We competed hard. They were just an awful good team.”
Consolidated went on to beat No. 3 seed San Marcos in a second-round match and will play today in the semifinals.
“We had a good year,” Thames said of his District 19-4A runnerup squad. “Now we’ll take a little time off and get ready for spring tennis.”