Panthers Take 3rd Place
in Midway Invitational Team Tennis Tournament
This past weekend, August 20 and 21, 2004, The Midway Panther Tennis Team opened up the 2004 Fall season by taking third place in the Midway Invitational Team Tennis Tournament. The Panthers went 2 - 1 on the weekend. "I am pleased with the heart and soul that this team showed in the opening weekend. We have some work to do, but these players will put in the effort to get where they need to be on the court," Coach Simonek.
The Panther Tennis Team opened up their season and the tournament with an 11 - 1 victory over the Groesbeck Goats. The Panther tennis team a 6 - 1 lead coming out of doubles play. "We did a nice job of implementing new tactics in our opening round. We have made some adjustments in doubles and the players made a solid commitment to what they have been working on," Coach Simonek.
The Panthers would finish the opening round by taking the first five singles matches to come off the court. Thus finishing off the Goats with an 11 - 1 Victory. "The players did an exceptional job in the singles. We are have some very experienced players at the top of our line-ups and some strong young ones at the bottom. We should be very solid in singles this year," Coach Simonek.
The Panthers would move into the semi-final round to face the Ennis Lions. "This has been a very contested rivalry the past few years. Our last six matches have been decided by a 10 - 9 score,'" Coach Simonek. This time it would be no different for the Panthers and the Lions, with the outcome coming down to the wire again.
The Panthers found themselves in an early whole against the Lions. The Lions took an early 5 - 2 lead after the doubles play. "We dug a deep whole after doubles. This was very disappointing. We pride ourselves in Doubles play and it had been a long time since we have come out of doubles with such a big deficit," Coach Simonek. Four out of the five Panthers losses in doubles came in third-set tie-breakers.
The Panthers whole would get even a little deeper as the lost the first two singles matches that came off of the courts. This put the match count at 2 - 7. "Our players have a lot of heart and will never check out of a match. They dug in their heels and went to work," Coach Simonek. The Panthers would take the next six singles matches that came off of the courts and claw themselves into an 8 - 7 lead. The Panthers and Lions would start to trade off matches until the match count was tied at 9 - 9.
The last match would be decided in a third-set that had to be postponed until Saturday, due to rain. The Lions would end up taking the third-set and finishing off the awesome match 9 - 10. "What our players did was really something to be proud of in this match. Everyone of them stepped up and pulled this team back into this match. We get another shot at Ennis in a couple of weeks and are really looking forward to that match," Coach Simonek.
The Panthers would come back and finish off the weekend with a 14 - 5 victory over the Belton Tigers for 3rd Place. The Panthers took no chances in Doubles play this time, sweeping the doubles matches for a 7 - 0 lead going into singles. "I am very excited about our season. I know that we will continue to play better and we will be prepared once we hit District and Regionals. The heart that the players showed this weekend can definitely attest to that," Coach Simonek.