AISD netters successful at 4-5A tennis tournament

By TED DUNNAM
Assistant Sports Editor

ODESSA - It began with a simple serve and a basic return.

It ended as the shot and the point of the District 4-5A tennis tournament Saturday at Odessa College.

When Andi Wildner flicked a clean winner off of a half-volley on match point, it culminated a fitting run of five matches, 13 sets and an unfathomable amount of adrenalin for her and partner Lacy Johnson.
Wildner's winning shot capped a comeback from a 4-0 third-set deficit as the Cooper team claimed a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Sarah Myers and Jaime Quisenberry of Odessa High in a playback match that determined a regional berth.

Had it not come on match point, that half-volley would have been anti-climactic to Wildner's previous stroke. She scrambled for a backhand at full speed, sliced the ball around the net post, and hit it for an apparent winner.
Odessa High somehow got the ball back, but Wildner somehow managed to have the presence of mind to recover, scramble back to her side of the court and hit the half-volley winner.

"That is the most unbelievable point I've ever seen," Cooper head coach Leanne Scott said. "And at 6-5, match point in the third set. I mean it was just incredible. Andi and Lacy just played never-say-die tennis the whole tournament. They played five wonderful matches."

Wildner and Johnson will be joined by teammates Kathryn Scott and Heather Gibson at the Region I-5A tournament in Lubbock. Scott and Gibson defeated their Cooper teammates 6-4, 6-0 in the finals which eventually set up the playback.

Abilene High's Meiling Parks, playing brilliant tennis, steamrolled Melissa Hodges, 6-3, 6-2 in the girls singles championship.

Also earning regional berths were three more Cooper players. Cougars Chuck Haddox and Ryan Hughes downed Abilene High's Dusty Oglesby and Adam Knight, 6-2, 7-6 for the boys doubles crown while Coog Matt Parkhill took second place in boys singles, losing to top seed Charlie Roberson of San Angelo Central, 6-1, 7-6.

While Parks along with Scott and Gibson prevailed in workmanlike fashion, it was Wildner and Johnson who provided the tournament's fireworks.

"I had always wanted to hit a shot around the post," Wildner said. "I can't believe it happened on match point. After I hit it, I thought we had won the point. I didn't think I'd have to hit a second shot."
Johnson didn't even believe there would be a first shot.

"I didn't think there was any way Andi would get to that ball," Johnson said. "I've never been involved in a point like that. It was amazing. When we were down 4-0, we just had to play one point at a time.
"When we got to 3-4, I knew we were back in it."

Even in the match Wildner and Johnson lost, they played well.

"We came out pretty scared, but we played good tennis in the first match," Wildner said. "Then in the second set, Kathryn and Heather just killed us."

'That's the best they've ever played against us," Gibson said. "They played great tennis this whole tournament. You could tell they wanted to win, and they gave us a good match."

Kathryn Scott agreed with that assessment.

'We needed somebody to press us and they did," she said. "I'm really glad they fought hard because they could have just rolled over. Andi and Lacy are playing so well right now."

Abilene High's Parks may be playing as well as anyone. She dissected Hodges for the second consecutive week.
"I feel relaxed on the court, I'm seeing the ball well and I'm hitting it well," she said. "I'm playing with a lot of confidence. I wasn't nearly as tense as I was last year at district.

'My goal was to win district and go to state. I've accomplished part of it."
Hughes and Haddox turned the tables on Knight and Oglesby from a loss last week in the Abilene Invitational.

The Cooper duo came back from a 3-0 deficit in the second-set tiebreaker to prevent having to play a third set.
'Down 3-0, I told Ryan we couldn't afford to get down any further," Haddox said. "If they would have gone up 4-0 in the tiebreaker, that would have been a huge momentum swing.

"Something just clicked and we started closing the net. I was incredibly nervous in that match. I couldn't keep three consecutive balls in play in warm-up."
Hughes said the first game keyed the entire match.

"When we broke Dusty, we realized we could break serve. Then, winning the first set was a big-time lift for us. We served well, returned well and took advantage of our opportunities."

A much-relieved Parkhill didn't have to play a playback match when Midland's Nathan Lawrence downed Abilene High's Mitch Aston in a third-place match.

"I knew I could get to region, but I had some doubts," Parkhill said. "The past three weeks I've improved my singles game. I thought I played a good second set against Charlie - I easily could have won it.

"Getting to a tiebreaker with him really gives me a lot of confidence."
he hard-luck team of the day was the Knight-Oglesby tandem which lost in the finals and then dropped a 3-setter in a playback match.

'We had our chances to capitalize in both matches and didn't do it," AHS head coach Kim Gidley said. "We set up the point well a lot of times, but just didn't execute. It's tough for Dusty and Adam because they've had some great wins this spring, and for the most part, have played excellent tennis."
Parks and Aston, though, gave Gidley reason to smile.

'Meiling is playing smart tennis and has really developed some weapons," the Eagle coach said. "She works the point well and she'll hurt you if you leave the ball in a bad spot. She really looks sharp.
"Mitch Aston had a great tournament. Next year, he'll have the chance to do what Meiling did this year. He really played well."

Wildner and Johnson, though, provided the thrills of the tournament, winning three three-set matches. In another, they came back from a 5-1 deficit and Saturday's comeback from 4-0 in the third set by the unseeded team put the finishing touch on their seemingly destined run to region.

"Even down 4-0 in the third, they were still mentally in the match," Leanne Scott said. "We were winning a lot of points, just not the right ones. This whole tournament, they just showed they weren't going to be denied."
Neither were Scott and Gibson.

"They just took care of business," the Cooper head coach said. "Ryan and Chuck played like they did in the L.D. Bell tournament and Matt should have gained a lot of confidence today. It was a great weekend." GIRLS