LADY BULLPUP JV TENNIS KICKOFF 2023 SEASON

Eveland, Crocker, Nowell Lead in Weather Shortened Competition at Buhler !

By Staff

BUHLER – The 2023 season began on Tuesday for the McPherson High girls tennis program as the junior varsity traveled to Buhler for an invitational and came home with some bang out individual starts for the season ahead despite the shortened competition due to excessive heat.

“Our players started off the fall season with a very hot tournament,” noted Lady Bullpup junior varsity coach Ricardo Sanchez. “The start time was moved to the morning in order to beat the heat, but in the end the extreme temperatures we’ve all been dealing with all week – put an early end to the tournament before all matches were played, so no team scores were taken.”

Our players started off the fall season with a very hot tournament! The start time was moved to the morning in order to beat the heat but in the end the extreme temperatures we’ve all been dealing with all week put an early end to the tournament before all matches were played, so no team scores were taken.

While the doubles competition had to be suspended due to the weather being so hot, the Lady Bullpup scored well in the singles competition as sophomore Avery Eveland scored a first-place spot in number two doubles after going 3-0 on the day.

In number one singles, freshman Piper VanCampen went 2-1 for her day which was good for third place.

Speaking of the performance of his singles entrees, coach Sanchez said, “Avery (Eveland) did a great job all day taking care of business. I feel like if she keeps working hard, she will be competing at a higher level in no time. Piper (VanCampen) started out her freshman season playing some consistent tennis. She did run into a player that was slightly more consistent in the semifinals, but as Piper plays mor matches, she will figure out ways to construct points.”

Competition for the day was suspended before all the doubles matches were completed, but those that were in the process of highlighted good things ahead for the Lady Bullpups program as number two doubles combo of Ady Crocker, a sophomore, and Jadin Nowell, a senior, were 2-0 and playing for first place.

According to Sanchez, “Ady (Crocker) and Jadin (Nowell) started the day extremely slow, down 0-4 in their first match. I kept telling them they needed to find a way to get involved at the net and to stay mentally strong. They slowly chipped away at the lead and were able to pull out the 6-4 win! From there they took off and didn’t look back, winning their semifinal match 6-0, and were up 5-3 in the finals match with Buhler when the tournament was suspended. Too bad they weren’t able to finish as I know Ady put in a lot of work this summer and it is paying off.”

In number one doubles, the duo of senior Jordan Martens and freshman Dragon Rodriguez were playing for third place after going 1-1 when the invitational was suspended.

“Our number one doubles team was made up of a senior and a freshman,” explained coach Sanchez. “Jordan (Martens), the senior, did a great job of leading the team and modeling good communication with Dragon (Rodriguez). They lost a tight 5-6 match in the semifinals and were just warming up for the third-place match when everything shut down.”

Next up for the Lady Bullpup junior varsity tennis team will come their home opener on Tuesday, August 29 when they host their own junior varsity invitational with Buhler, Great Bend, Haysville/Campus, Hesston, Hutchinson, Smoky Valley and Valley Center hitting the courts for competition.

The McPherson varsity girls tennis team will kick off their season on Saturday, August 26 on the road at the Hesston Invitational.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)