Girls take bronze in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE — Friday was another tournament day for the Panthers as they headed to Knoxville to compete against six other teams.

Ballard and Knoxville tied for first, scoring 19. The Panthers came in third at 15.

“Tonight was a good tournament for our girls,” Creston coach Kevin Cooper said. “It is always a competitive tournament with some very good teams there. Tonight was no different, and our girls got to play a lot of good competition. There could be multiple state qualifiers that come out of this tournament.”

In No. 1 singles, Creston senior Ava Adamson won her first series against Chariton sophomore Paisley Larrington. In the semifinals, she lost in a tiebreaker round with Newton senior Alexis Dirksen. Adamson defeated Ballard junior Samara Rousch 6-4 in the third-place bout.

“Ava ended up in third place but very easily could have been playing in the championship match,” Cooper said. “Her semifinal match tiebreaker ended up being 13-11, and she had multiple match points she was unable to win. She has been a great leader for us this year, taking on the toughest competition from our opponents.”

In No. 1 doubles, senior Sasha Wurster and junior Hollynn Rieck made it to the finals before falling to Ballard’s Payton Akelson and Harley Akelson.

“Sasha and Hollynn won two matches for us and eventually lost in the championship,” Cooper said. “They are still learning to play high-level doubles together. They have improved in the past week, and that is because the level of competition stepped up.”

No. 2 singles saw sophomore Kennedy Strider face five different opponents, winning three of the matches.

“Tonight was was the best Kennedy has played all year,” Cooper said. “She went 3-2 on the night and battled in each match. She has improved in the past week with her consistency and her serving.”

The freshman duo of Shaylee Coen and Marlee Stalker were 0-2 on the night, falling to two Clarke teams.

“Tonight was a tough night for Shaylee and Marlee,” Cooper said. “As young players playing in their first tournament formatted this way, they were really up against a wall playing against older more experienced players.”

The Panthers home match Monday against Clarinda was postponed due to weather. The makeup date has not yet been set. They return to action Saturday in Shenandoah.