Abilene Invitational: AHS beats CHS

By TED DUNNAM
Assistant Sports Editor

Although Adam Knight and Dusty Oglesby gave Ryan Hughes and Chuck Haddox a healthy dose of take-no-prisoners tennis Saturday, in the end they did help Abilene High capture something - the team title of the Abilene Invitational

The 6-3, 6-3 win by Knight and Oglesby over the Cooper team not only earned them a doubles title, but the victory also determined which team - AHS or CHS - would take home the team crown.
"This is awesome," Abilene High head coach Kim Gidley said. "It's been four years since we've beaten Cooper in a team tennis tournament. Adam and Dusty really capped a great day for us. They had great reflexes the whole match.

"I was pleased with the way everyone played today. It couldn't have been better."
The girls singles title also went to Abilene High as Meiling Parks, the No. 2 seed, defeated top-seeded Melissa Hodges of Odessa Permian, 6-3, 6-4.

Cooper's Heather Gibson and Kathryn Scott easily claimed the girls' doubles title, downing the surprising Abilene High team of Kate Denny and Jill Levrets, 6-1, 6-2. In the boys' singles final, Jason Kirkland of Shallowater turned back Matt Parkhill of Cooper, 7-5, 6-3.
Many of Saturday's matches were pivotal in that they'll help determine seeding at the District 4-5A tournament Friday and Saturday in Odessa.

Oglesby and Knight may have earned themselves a No. 1 seed.

"We played pretty good tennis," Oglesby said. "We just kept it short and simple. We wanted to keep the ball low and put away the volleys. Adam played great. I don't know if he's ever played that well."

Knight couldn't disagree.

"I'd have to say so. I was doing that zone thing the whole match," he said. "This was a big confidence builder for us. This is one of the best matches we've ever played. Ryan and Chuck are good - we were just in the right spots at the right times."

Knight and Oglesby lost the first two games of the match before winning 12 of the last 16.
Parks was equally impressive in her victory, constantly moving Hodges around the court before eventually putting away winners.

"I knew I had to keep the ball away from her forehand," Parks said, "and make her move as much as I could. The first set was real close, but when I got up 5-3 I started feeling more in control.
"Near the end of the match, I could tell she was getting frustrated. I just wanted to keep executing and keep the ball in play."

The victory over Hodges was the second this year for Parks, who also defeated the Permian player in Big Spring.

"This helps my confidence a lot," Parks said. "I feel like I'm playing my best tennis now."
Scott and Gibson went unchallenged in rolling to a girls doubles title for the second consecutive week.

"We're getting better," Scott said. "I haven't played much doubles this spring. Once we get more used to playing with each other I think we'll play a little better.
"We'd never played them (Denny and Levrets) before, but we didn't really think they could do anything to hurt us. We've got to work on our serves and our returns. If we improve those, we know we can handle the points pretty well."

Although Denny and Levrets lost in the finals, they upset the No. 2 seeds, Andi Wildner and Lacy Johnson of Cooper, en route to the championship match.
"I'm really happy with our tournament," Denny said. "We came in here as a new team and really didn't know how we'd do. Andi and Lacy are a great team - I've lost to them before with Jill Frizzell.
"Against Kathryn and Heather, we just wanted to be ourselves and play like we did in the first match. They were just too good. But this tournament worked out real well for us. We're looking forward to district."

Cooper head coach Leanne Scott said her team played well but could have done a little better.
"It was a positive day overall," Scott said. "The boys doubles match was disappointing, but Adam and Dusty played so well. They just played a flawless match, and we were pressing too hard to make things happen.

"We can definitely play better than what we played today. We had opportunities in the second set and didn't take advantage of them. If Adam and Dusty play that well every time they go out, they'll be very tough to beat.

"I thought Matt (Parkhill) looked good, and I thought Kathryn and Heather looked good. They're just so physically strong and overpower people. They've also worked harder this spring than anyone on our team and it showed today. They're just more focused than everyone else, and that's what it takes right now."

Team totals - 1. Abilene High 22, 2. Cooper 20, 3. Lubbock Coronado 11, 4. Odessa Permian 10, 5. Lubbock Monterey 9.

Quarterfinals - Oglesby-Knight, AHS, def. Earl-Flores, Lubbock Coronado, 6-2, 6-2; Payne-Miller, Lubbock Monterey, def. Renovales-Rodriguez, NMMI, 6-4, 6-3; Reese-Ridgell, AHS, def. Kay-Alexander, Lubbock Monterey, 7-5, 6-1; Hughes-Haddox, Cooper, def. Nesloney-McMillan, Mason, 6-1, 7-6.
Semifinals - Hughes-Haddox def. Reese-Ridgell, 6-3, 6-2; Oglesby-Knight def. Miller-Payne, 6-2, 6-3.
Finals - Oglesby-Knight def. Hughes-Haddox, 6-3, 6-3.

Quarterfinals - Chad Mitchell, AHS, def. Cody Chapman, AHS, 6-4, 6-2; Matt Parkhill, Cooper, def. Robert Doty, Lubbock Coronado, 6-3, 7-5; Jason Kirkland, Shallowater, def. Mitch Aston, AHS, 6-3, 6-4; Ike Spilea, NMMI, def. David Simek, Lubbock Monterey, 6-2, 7-5.
Semifinals - Parkhill def. Mitchell, 6-1, 6-3; Kirkland def. Spilea, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Finals - Kirkland def. Parkhill, 7-5, 6-3.

Semifinals - Gibson-Scott, Cooper, def. Edwards-Edwards, Odessa Permian, 6-2, 6-1; Levrets-Denny, AHS, def. Wildner-Johnson, Cooper, 6-3, 6-2.
Finals - Gibson-Scott def. Levrets-Denny, 6-1, 6-2.

Quarterfinals - Lillian Lien, Cooper, def. Lisa Bilderback, Lubbock Monterey,6-3, 7-5; Meredith Thomesen, AHS, def. Kim Johnson, Lubbock Coronado, 6-2, 6-3; Melissa Hodges, Odessa Permian, def. Heather Duncan, Lubbock Monterey, 6-0, 6-2.
Semifinals - Hodges def. Thomesen, 6-0, 6-0; Parks def. Lien, 7-5, 6-1.
Finals - Parks def. Hodges, 6-3, 6-4.