CHANUTE — Iola High tennis coach Chris Belknap received a text message shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday that two of his freshmen — Rebekah Coltrane and Keira Fawson — wanted to give it a whirl at the varsity level.
Fawson had competed at a JV match earlier in the week but was a bit reluctant to move up a level so quickly on the young season, Belknap explained.
She needn’t have worried. 
Coltrane and Fawson steamrolled their way through the No. 2 doubles competition at the Fillies’ season-opening varsity matches Thursday, going 4-0 on the day.
Couple that with sisters Miah and Sidney Shelby, who went 3-1 in No. 1 doubles competition, and Belknap is optimistic Iola tennis will serve up double the trouble for its upcoming foes.
“I could not be happier with this great bunch of athletes,” Belknap said.
Jessica Tidd competed in singles action, going 0-4 on the day against some stiff competition, “but she played very well,” Belknap said.
As a team, Iola took third overall.
The Fillies will take to the courts in Iola on Thursday for their first (and only) home matches of the season.
