Panthers Take 3rd Place In Midway Team Tennis Invitational

    This weekend, August 26 & 27, 2005, The panther Tennis Team took 3rd place in the Midway Team Tennis Invitational.  "The players really showed a lot of heart and determination in tough situations this weekend.  This is an awesome trait for our team, but we also know that we have a lot of work to do as we move forward in our season," Coach Simonek.

        The Panthers opened up the Tournament with a 10-9 Victory over Van.  The Panthers opened the match with a 4-3 lead after the doubles match play.  The Panthers swept the girls doubles and Van swept the guys, the lead would all come down to the mixed doubles.  Ben McCarter/Lindsey North would step up and pull out a three-set victory in a third set tie-breaker for the 4-3 lead.  "This was a huge match for the team.  To have the lead going into singles gave us the edge we needed," Coach Simonek.  Also winning matches in doubles were Colleen Myers/Elizabeth Allinson, Rivera/Harrell, and Leudtke/Millard.

        The Panthers would go back and forth trading matches with Van in singles.  Van would eventually tie the match at 9-9 with only one match left on the courts.  Freshman, Cat Leudtke was the last player on the courts for the Panthers.  Cat would elevate her play and solidify the win for the Panthers with a 6-4 6-0 victory.  "Cat really stepped up in a tough situation.  When you know that the match comes down to you, it takes a special player to step up and play to win the match," Coach Simonek.  Also winning key singles matches for the Panthers were Frankie Allinson, Magaly Rivera, Colleen Myers, Elizabeth Allinson, and Amanda Alvarado.

        The Panthers would lose a tough match against Ennis before returning on Saturday to play for 3rd Place in the tournament.  The Panthers would face Harker Heights for 3rd.  The Knights were looking to avenge a 12-7 loss to the Panthers the previous week.  The Panthers would meet the challenge early and jump out to a 5-2 lead after doubles play.  "I am excited about the way that the players responded in doubles against Heights.  We did not play well against Ennis in the doubles and the players came out very focused this morning to jump on the Knights in Doubles play" Coach Simonek.  Winning matches in doubles were: Frankie Allinson/Mitchell Myers, McCarter/Fernandez, Natividad/Rochelle, and Luedtke/Alvarado. 

        The Panthers would trade singles matches with the Knights.  The Panthers would eventually take a 9-6 lead with singles wins from Ben McCarter, Frankie Allinson, Chris Fernandez, and Ross Natividad.  The Knights would play tough  though and pull the match back to a 9-9 tie.  The last match came down to Amanda Alvarado for the panthers.  Alvarado was down 2-6, 1-4 and starting battling back against her opponent.  "This was an awesome come back but that is the fight that all of our players showed over the weekend.  It was a great win for Amanda and the team," Coach Simonek.  Alvarado would come back to take the second set 7-5.  She would go on to finish the match with a 2-6 7-5, 7-5 victory. 

        The Panthers will compete this Thursday, September 1, 2005 against Lindale at Corsicana.