Lowell headlines IHS JV tennis

FORT SCOTT — Caressa Lowell’s third-place finish highlighted a busy day on the court Monday for Iola High’s junior varsity tennis team.
Lowell went 2-2 in No. 2 singles play, defeating Ashlee Montojo, 6-1, and Jocy Diaz of Fort Scott, 6-2. Lowell came up short against Chanute’s Caroline Kimberlin and Trina Paul of Pittsburg.
Iola’s other competitors weren’t as successful.
Khrystal Smith went 0-3 in No. 1 singles, falling to Angela Alger of Chanute, Alex King of Fort Scott and Abi Felter of Pittsburg.
Iola’s Kelsey Hale and Tori Smith dropped decisions to Lawrence and Ungles of Chanute, Engle and Norris of Fort Scott, Cicero and Benedict of Pittsburg, and a makeshift team of Greer and Daniels.
Tori Danford and Judy Branstetter also went 0-4, falling to Graham and Stadler of Chanute, Cunningham and Adams of Fort Scott, Curlee and Stewart of Pittsburg and Leslie and Wiliams, another SEK combo team.
“Though the temperatures were great for tennis, many of the matches were played while it was sprinkling,” IHS tennis coach Jennifer Bycroft said. “Khrystal and Caressa did a nice job in singles. We need to learn to mix up our shots better, to keep the ball away from our opponents.”
The doubles teams, to their detriment, have kids who are too quiet, Bycroft said.
“That makes it tough, because they have to learn to communicate with one another, or it just doesn’t work,” she said. “The more experience they have, the better.”