Starting their season in mid-August, the Greenwood High School tennis teams are already approaching the end of their season. The conference tournament will be played over two days, September 23-24, at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. The state tournament follows for teams and players who qualify.
The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs played three matches over the past two weeks against Alma, Russellville, and Lake Hamilton.
The teams traveled to Alma on August 29th, but each team was missing a key player, according to Head Coach Ken Hamilton.
“We played without Abigail Woodring and Eli Butler due to conflicts with the performing arts, [but] overall we did not do too badly.” Woodring is Greenwood’s #2 girls’ singles player, while Butler is the top boys’ singles player.
In girls’ singles action, Greenwood’s top-rated player, senior Olivia Gaston, remained undefeated with an 8-0 win. Junior Sarah Beshears bumped up to #2 singles and played well in the August heat, but lost a long match, 4-8.
In girls’ doubles, seniors Breana Acosta and Madie Pelt won 8-6 and 8-0, respectively. Freshmen Mckenzie Cannon and Lucia Wilcox played #2 doubles and lost 6-8 in their first match, but won 8-2 in their second.
In boys’ singles, junior Zack Beshears won a well-played match, 8-4, while junior Johathan Mitchell overpowered his opponent, 8-3.
In boys’ doubles, the duo of junior Micah Belue and freshman Brenden Hoskyn rallied from 2-7 down to tie their match 8-8, before losing in a tiebreaker, 3-7. Freshmen Grayson Vaughn and Conner Jones lost their only match at #2 doubles, going down 4-8.
Overall, the GHS girls won four of six matches, while the boys won two of four varsity matches.
Greenwood hosted Lake Hamilton in a non-conference match on September 3rd with its full complement of players available.
In girls’ varsity singles play, Olivia Gaston continued her undefeated season, winning 8-0. Likewise, fellow senior Abigail Woodring remained unbeaten, also winning 8-0.
In girls’ doubles, Breana Acosta and Madie Pelt won 8-2, while Sarah Beshears and Rebecca Harris came from behind to win their match, 8-4.
In junior barsity girls’ action, Mckenzie Cannon and sophomore Eden Adams lost 4-8 in doubles, and Lucia Wilcox lost a hard-fought singles match, 6-8. Overall, the GHS girls won six of eight matches.
In boys’ varsity play, Zackary Beshears and Jonathan Mitchell both won long matches, 8-5 and 8-4, respectively. Eli Butler won his singles match, 8-3, and Brenden Hoskyn won his match, 8-5.
In boys’ doubles, Jonathan Mitchell and Micah Belue won 8-5 and 8-2, respectively. Conner Jones and Grayson Vaughn lost 3-8. The Greenwood boys won five of their six varsity matches.
On September 5th both GHS teams traveled to Russellville for a conference match, dropping only two of their varsity matches.
Olivia Gaston continued her season-long string of undefeated outings with an 8-0 victory in girls’ singles play, as did Abigail Woodring, still unbeaten at #2 singles, also winning 8-0.
In girls’ doubles, Breana Acosta and Madie Pelt won 8-3, Sarah Beshears and sophomore Rebecca Harris won 8-4, while McKenzie Cannon and Lucia Wilcox won 8-2.
In boys’ varsity play the Bulldogs won all but two matches. Zach Beshears won 8-4 in singles play, while Micah Belue lost 1-8.
In doubles play, Eli butler and Jonathan Mitchell won 8-4 and 8-2, respectively. Brenden Hoskyn and Grayson Vaughn lost 4-8, and Hoskyn and Connor Jones lost in a tiebreaker, 8-0 (4-7).
Coach Hamilton talked about the younger members of his team, including six freshmen and four sophomores.
“With such an inexperienced team, the non-conference matches are scheduled to allow as many players as possible to get experience on-court. The freshmen are getting better and so are the sophomores who have very little experience,” said the coach.
Greenwood played Fort Smith Northside this past Monday, but results were not available at press time. Additional matches this week include opponents from Little Rock Christian, Beebe, and Russellville, all league contests. The Russellville match will be played at Greenwood on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.