Panther boys tennis team places third at Regionals

Panther boys tennis team places third at Regionals

Oct. 14, 2000

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

A singles player and three doubles teams from Montezuma-Cortez High School placed third at the Class 4A Western Slope Regional Tennis Tournament which was held last weekend, Oct. 6-7, at Mesa State College in Grand Junction.

The Panthers finished third in the final team stands while Steamboat Springs took first and Montrose second. The Indians compete today, Oct. 14, at Class 4A State Tournament in Pueblo.

It was a power struggle with Steamboat Springs last Saturday, Oct. 7, the Indians finished second at the tournament, but still managed to qualify everyone for state. The teams squared off in every finals match, according to MCHS head coach Ricky Carver.

Several of the Panthers performed well, according to Carver.

Panther, Billy Innis, no. 2 singles player, played a Delta player in the first round and Innis won easily 6-0, 6-2. He lost to Steamboat Springs in the semifinals but fell 1-6, 2-6. He dropped down into the lower bracket and beat Hotchkiss 6-2, 6-4 and Aspen 6-2, 6-0 for third place. Innis got lucky and received a playback opportunity but lost to Montrose 2-6, 1-6.

No. 2 doubles team of Noah Rauscher-Troy Tanner lost 2-6, 0-6 to Steamboat. They beat Cedaredge 6-1, 6-4 and defeated Aspen 6-3, 6-2 for third place. They also received a playback and fell to Montrose 0-6, 0-6.

No. 3 doubles David Wilcken-Devon Perkins lost to Steamboat 0-6, 2-6. They beat Hotchkiss 6-0, 6-3 and defeated Cedaredge for third place with scores of 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4.

No. 4 doubles Sean Carey and Chance Harrison beat Delta 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the semifinals. They lost to Montrose 1-6, 1-6. They beat Cedaredge 6-1, 6-1 and beat Aspen 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 for third place.

But Cortez had some disappointments on the day, according to Carver. No. 1 singles J.C. Keetso lost his first match to Cedaredge 0-6, 3-6 and was out of the tournament. No. 3 singles Jeff Anderson also lost his first match to Cedaredge 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. No. 1 doubles of Gerald Keetso and Keegan Moore fell to Aspen 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), and 3-6.

"We had a pretty good tournament," Carver commented. "Third place is about where I thought we would finish. Steamboat had a very good team and Montrose played well. Coaches at Regionals told me we had improved a lot from a year ago."

Carver doesn’t take all the credit. He said assistant coach Jim Harkendorff was "a tremendous help in teaching and coaching."

The Panthers swept Central of Grand Junction, now coached by former MCHS coach Joel Marquardt, which was a highlight of the year. How does Carver look back on the 2000 season?

"From where we were to how far we came, I thought the kids did a tremendous job. I’m very proud of them. They improved their scores at almost every match. They improved their serving, volleying, and ground strokes. I would say most of them improved in all aspects," he added.

Carver is now already looking forward to next fall.

"We lose only one senior (Gerald Keetso). This year we started out a step behind (from the last coach) and the players had some bad habits and many of them were out of shape. My main goal was just to get back into playing condition and start rebuilding. The players promised they will work over the off-season and play a lot this summer."