Lady Tigers heavy favorites to win league tourney
Posted on Monday, October 6, 2008
BENTON COUNTY — Tennis coaches approach the 7 A-West Conference Tennis Tournament with different goals.
The tournament begins this afternoon and concludes Tuesday. Today the boys will play at Kingsdale Tennis Complex in Bella Vista while the girls will be at the Walton Life Fitness Center in Bentonville. Matches should begin around 1 p. m., according to Bentonville coach Paul Pautsch. On Tuesday, the girls will join the boys in Bella Vista for semifinal and final matches.
Some coaches, such as Pautsch, want to see their team capture a title. Rogers coaches just want to see some of their players qualify for the state tournament.
The Lady Tigers would seem to be the odds-on favorite to capture the girls’ team championship, said Rogers girls’ coach Ronny Cowan. Last week the Lady Tigers closed out their sixth consecutive undefeated regular season with 9-0 win against Rogers. The Lady Tigers have won five consecutive state and conference titles.
“ We will be going for our sixth, ” Pautsch said. “ I am really pleased with our girls. Our doubles teams are good. The best thing about my girls is that they listen. It may sound like bragging but I think the girls have got to be the favorite. ” The tournament is loaded with some of the state’s top talent. Bentonville seniors Anna Bever and Arden Brazzeal are ranked in top 10 of the USTA’s state G 18 division rankings at fifth and eighth, respectfully. They are joined by Rogers senior Karsyn Betts who is ranked seventh. In the G 16 USTA division, Bentonville teammates Amy Andersen (No. 2 ) and Oksana Hillyer (No. 3 ) are ranked in the top five.
Pautsch will enter Hillyer and junior Morgan Ryan in the singles draw.
Pautsch and Cowan expect to see Hillyer and Betts go deep into the conference tournament. Hillyer, a junior, is listed as 2-star recruit according to TennisRecruiting. net and the Web site lists her as the state’s sixth best prospect for the 2010 class. She is undefeated in singles this season after 10 matches. Betts is listed as 1-star recruit and the state’s fourth-ranked senior, according to Web site. Last week, the two faced off with hard-hitting Hillyer outlasting the lefty Betts 6-2, 7-6 (7-1 tiebreaker ).
“ If I was going to look at the whole picture of the year, I would say that this (Hillyer-Betts ) would be the conference final, ” Pautsch said. “ I can’t see anyone beating them. ”
Cowan said he hopes Betts and teammate Keely Dockins qualify in singles and the pair of Michelle Kilgore and Caroline Kelley qualify in doubles. Cowan is keeping his goals realistic and said it is difficult to match the depth of the Lady Tigers.
“ I feel like we have a chance to win some matches and get some girls qualified for state, ” Cowan said
On the boys’ side, Pautsch is uncertain about his team’s chances to capture a third conference title.
“ Our guys I don’t know. I think (Fort Smith ) Southside has a good outfit. Rogers and Fayetteville have a good outfits, ” Pautsch said. “ There are four teams that can win the conference and I give the nod to Southside. They are strong on top with their seniors. ”
Last week, Southside snapped Bentonville’s regular season winning streak at 68. Bentonville bounced back from the loss by defeating Rogers 8-1.
“ Can Bentonville be beat ? Yeah. Anybody can be beat on any day, ” said Rogers boys ’ coach Steve Peck. “ Southside and Fayetteville will take enough points away to make it tight for Bentonville. ” The format for the conference championships is different than a dual match. Coaches pick two singles players and two doubles tandems to be entered in a draw. Players cannot play singles and doubles. Teams rack up points based on each victory. The weather forecast of rain threatens the tournament schedule both days. The 7 A West has until Oct. 14 to finish the tournament. “ If we could get one match in on Monday, Tuesday would be a real bonus, ” Pautsch said. “ Otherwise we will have to string this thing out. ”
From the 7 A-West, five singles and five doubles teams will advance to the 7 A State Tournament, which will be held Oct. 20-21 at Burns Park in North Little Rock.
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