The LCHS boys and girls tennis team opened their season this week against the Calvary Cavaliers, but only the Panther boys sealed a win with a gritty doubles victory late in the tennis match.
To help secure the match, seniors Nick Radunske and Colton Sells took down their singles opponents to give the Panthers an early advantage.
Radunske easily deconstructed Cavalier Chris Smith by defeating him 10-2, and Sells had a closer, yet equally important, victory against James Harrell 10-8. Unfortunately, freshman Kevin Owens fell to Andrew Green in a 3-10 loss.
However, as doubles play followed, the Panthers needed only one more win to take the match.
Senior Thomas Thomas and junior David Calloway were beaten by Richard Pershey and Joseph Hulsey 3-10, and it then fell upon the shoulders of the last doubles team, senior James McCarthy and sophomore Kurt McGee.
McGee and McCarthy started off slowly and trailed early in the match only to have it come down to a tiebreaker.
“When we realized that (Cheyne Strong and Chris Lain) kept stepping up to the net, James and I decided to do that too, and that was their weakness so we gained an advantage on them and capitalized,” McGee said.
Prior to the game, head coach Sandra Eiccholz said she wanted to instill some kinesthetic movement in her players, and it seems to have paid off as McGee and McCarthy used their forehands to outgun the Cavaliers during the close net play.
“It was a very exciting day today and I am happy that Kurt and I could make it happen,” McCarthy said. “Now I am just concerned about getting better so I can help my team in the next match.”
For the girls, they lost three of their singles matches and both of their doubles matches.
In singles, freshman Tierra Sapp, senior Susan Talley and sophomore Courtney Bush lost to Brittany Eidam, Heather Eidam and Sierra Curry.
For doubles, freshmen Natalie Taylor and Heather McCoy lost to Elizabeth Danos and Allie Holden, and seniors Kayana Morton and Kristen Pratt lost to Haley Hearn and Taylor Linderman.
“It was a very encouraging day, but we still have a lot of work to do with both boys and girls,” Eiccholz said. “I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I saw some good ability in my players that I’ll try to refine before the next match.”
Their next match will be at home against Claxton on March 6 at 4 p.m.
To help secure the match, seniors Nick Radunske and Colton Sells took down their singles opponents to give the Panthers an early advantage.
Radunske easily deconstructed Cavalier Chris Smith by defeating him 10-2, and Sells had a closer, yet equally important, victory against James Harrell 10-8. Unfortunately, freshman Kevin Owens fell to Andrew Green in a 3-10 loss.
However, as doubles play followed, the Panthers needed only one more win to take the match.
Senior Thomas Thomas and junior David Calloway were beaten by Richard Pershey and Joseph Hulsey 3-10, and it then fell upon the shoulders of the last doubles team, senior James McCarthy and sophomore Kurt McGee.
McGee and McCarthy started off slowly and trailed early in the match only to have it come down to a tiebreaker.
“When we realized that (Cheyne Strong and Chris Lain) kept stepping up to the net, James and I decided to do that too, and that was their weakness so we gained an advantage on them and capitalized,” McGee said.
Prior to the game, head coach Sandra Eiccholz said she wanted to instill some kinesthetic movement in her players, and it seems to have paid off as McGee and McCarthy used their forehands to outgun the Cavaliers during the close net play.
“It was a very exciting day today and I am happy that Kurt and I could make it happen,” McCarthy said. “Now I am just concerned about getting better so I can help my team in the next match.”
For the girls, they lost three of their singles matches and both of their doubles matches.
In singles, freshman Tierra Sapp, senior Susan Talley and sophomore Courtney Bush lost to Brittany Eidam, Heather Eidam and Sierra Curry.
For doubles, freshmen Natalie Taylor and Heather McCoy lost to Elizabeth Danos and Allie Holden, and seniors Kayana Morton and Kristen Pratt lost to Haley Hearn and Taylor Linderman.
“It was a very encouraging day, but we still have a lot of work to do with both boys and girls,” Eiccholz said. “I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I saw some good ability in my players that I’ll try to refine before the next match.”
Their next match will be at home against Claxton on March 6 at 4 p.m.