The Greenwood High School tennis teams have already played several matches this month, starting on August 16th against Fort Smith Northside followed by home matches against Fort Smith Southside two days later and Van Buren last Thursday. A three-team match featuring Greenwood, Russellville, and Mountain Home last Monday was cancelled due to rain at Russellville. The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs played this past Tuesday at Arkansas Tech University against both Greenbrier and Harrison.
Head Coach Dexter Pearcy is starting his third season at the top of the program after serving for a year as an assistant to former longtime volunteer head coach Dr. Ken Hamilton, who now serves as Pearcy’s assistant. The two coaches have 19 girls on their roster and 12 boys. Coach Pearcy recently talked about his players and the team’s outlook for 2022.
He began by acknowledging a growing interest in GHS tennis reflected in the number of players who came out for the team. “We’ve got a varsity team, junior varsity, and a practice squad,” he said. “The practice squad is basically kids that didn’t make the team, but we’re trying to make sure we have good participation, so we’re bringing them out maybe once a week to practice to help them get better. But the varsity and JV teams will be [traveling and] playing in the matches.”
The coach then started down his varsity roster, beginning with the ladies. “Bella is a good player and hits the ball well,” he said of his #1 girls’ singles player, junior Isabella King. “She puts a lot of time and effort into it. These first couple of matches (losses) she’s played some good competition, but I think she will be a lot more competitive in our conference. She’s a good player with some good experience. This is her third year to play meaningful matches in our program. She’s a smart player with really good ground strokes and she’s a good competitor.
“Mackenzie Cannon (#2 singles) is a senior who’s played some meaningful matches for us in past years,” he continued. “She’s a good player too in her own right. She’s willing to compete and really loves tennis. Mackenzie Magness (#3 singles) is the [only] lefty on the team. She is a ninth grader and she’s got a lot of potential moving forward. Her dad used to play, and she’s been taking lessons.”
The coach then talked about his girls’ doubles teams, beginning with sophomore Harper Berg and junior Lydiah Belue. “They played together last year and were pretty solid. They went back-and-forth with Chase Hanna and Bella King for the #1 spot and they’re looking to build on what they accomplished last season,” said Pearcy.
Of partners Laykn Forrester [senior] and Emma Wirth [junior] the coach said, “They are both girls who were right on the fringe of being varsity players last year, and during the pre-season we felt they were playing really well. They both work hard and hustle and we thought they would be a good fit as a doubles team. I think they enjoy playing together and they are real competitive kids.”
Greenwood’s #3 doubles team is Maleah Cole and Emma Koenigseder. Cole is a junior and Koenigseder a sophomore. “They’re both young players,” said their coach. “Emma actually goes to Houston every summer and plays in a tennis camp for a full week. She puts a lot of time into tennis and she’s a taller girl with a lot of natural coverage of the court. Maleah is a good solid player and they do well together.”
He then moved on to Abby Webb and Claire Roberts, both juniors who make up Greenwood’s #4 doubles duo for the girls. “Abby is probably the hardest worker we have in our program. She works really hard and is very competitive. Claire is a skilled player. All of these [doubles] teams are really close to each other as to who could be second, third, or fourth. We’ve got a lot of parody in the program on the girls’ side, for sure.
“[We] want to mix and match them based on their strengths and weaknesses,” he added. “It really helps if one is a good net player and the other one is a good baseline player that has good ground strokes. But we’re strongest if we can move them both to the net. If they can compliment each other’s [skills] is makes for a good pair.”
On the boys’ side of things, Pearcy started with his #1 singles player, sophomore Alex Schaefer. “Alex is a younger player, a tenth grader, and he’s a really skilled tennis player. He and his mom play all the time. He’s a really dedicated kid. He plays as much as he can and I think the future is really bright for him, especially as he matures physically. He will get a little quicker and stronger and that will make for a really good player.”
Next on the coach’s list was junior Keaton Whisenhunt. “Keaton is a guy this year that kind of surprised [us]. I think even Coach Hamilton would agree. We knew he was a pretty athletic kid, but he’s really developed skill-wise, and it’s all due to his dedication. All off-season he was at the courts playing with his buddies and he’s turned into a good player.”
Sophomore Eason Lin, who had Covid and did not play in the season-opening match against Fort Smith Northside, is Pearcy’s #3 singles player and has since returned to active duty with the Bulldogs. Several other GHS boys will see action in singles matches as the need and opportunity arises, based on the number of players among their opponents.
Among boys’ doubles, Greenwood’s top duo is junior J.J. Acosta and senior Brendon Hoskyn. “They were a really strong team last year. They won our conference in boys doubles last year. That was J.J.’s second year in a row to win it, and they nearly got to the second day of state, which would have been the semifinals. So, we are expecting big things out of them this season. We think they’re going to do very well.”
Greenwood’s #2 doubles team consists of senior Grayson Vaughn and sophomore Lucas Hefflin. “[Grayson] played singles for us last year, but we felt like he and Lucas complimented each other well, so we tried them out in doubles. They have really good chemistry and seem to enjoy playing with each other. They have a lot of potential and I think they will [also] do well in our conference.”
The team’s #3 doubles duo is Connor Jones and Wesley Jarrell. “Connor is a senior and Wesley is a ninth grader,” said their coach. “Wesley has grown in his game a bunch just since we’ve started practicing this pre-season. He’s taken to the game really well, and Connor’s been a guy close to making an impact on the varsity level for a couple years now. He’s a solid player.”
Pearcy then identified his varsity players, saying, “The #1 and #2 singles and doubles teams are the varsity players. Anything below that would be junior varsity players. But the coach repeated his earlier statement about parody, especially among his girls doubles teams, allowing for the possible movement from junior varsity status to varsity based on quality of play. As for members of the practice squad, Pearcy said, “Hopefully those kids will continue to develop and become meaningful players in our program.”
As for the 5A West, Pearcy said, “Harrison has moved into our conference and Vilonia is out,” when asked about the schedule, which he described as pretty much normal. Arkansas Tech University is once again allowing outside teams to use their facilities after closing their campus to such activities during the pandemic last season. “The state tournament will be in Hot Springs again, hosted by Lakeside,” confirmed the coach.
Asked about his tenure as tennis coach, Pearcy was quick to give a nod to former head coach and current assistant coach Ken Hamilton. “I have the utmost respect for what Coach Hamilton brings to our program. He is highly involved and very invested in our program. He does unbelievable things for us. He’s awesome and a great asset for our program. [But] I do feel more comfortable working with the kids, and each year with Coach Hamilton my knowledge of the game has grown.”
Greenwood at Northside
On August 16th both GHS teams opened their season against Fort Smith Northside in matches played at Creekmore Park in the River City. Greenwood defeated Northside, led by the Lady Bulldogs, who won five of their seven matches. The Bulldogs edged the Grizzlies 3-2 in the mid-August Arkansas heat and humidity.
In girls’ singles play both Bella King and Mackenzie Cannon lost their matches, but Greenwood’s Mackenzie Magness won her match by disqualification when her opponent had to withdraw for safety/health reasons. But it was in doubles play that the Lady Bulldogs shined, winning all four of their matches.
The GHS duo of Harper Berg and Lydian Belue won 8-3, while Laykn Forrester and Emma Wirth also won 8-3. Maleah Cole and Emma Koenigseder won their match, 6-2, and partners Abby Webb and Claire Roberts won easily, 6-2. The clean sweep in doubles gave the Lady Bulldogs a final total of 5-2 in match play.
In boys play, Greenwood’s Alex Schafer and Keaton Whisenhunt were both shutout in their singles matches, 0-8, while all three GHS doubles teams won. J.J. Acosta and Brendon Hoskyn won their match, 8-5, while Grayson Vaughn and Lucas Hefflin won their outing, 8-1. The team of Wesley Jarrell and Conner Jones also won, 6-3.
“Northside’s singles players were really good,” said Pearcy. “Their #1 boys’ singles player is definitely a top five player in the state. He’s really good and their #2 boy is really good as well. They’re both really good players.”
The coach also talked about the tough playing conditions that day. “It was brutal,” he said. “It was about 105 degrees and Northside had a couple of kids [that dropped out].” Thankfully, subsequent matches have been played under more favorable weather conditions.
Southside at Greenwood
Greenwood’s first home match of the season was on a somewhat cooler, overcast day against the Mavericks and Lady Mavs of Fort Smith Southside involving a total of 15 matches. The Lady Bulldogs lost five of their eight matches to the Southside girls, while the GHS boys dropped all but one of their seven matches against a very good Mavericks’ squad.
In girls’ solo action, Bella King fell 3-8, Mackenzie Cannon lost 4-8, and Mackenzie Magness dropped her match, 1-8. The team of Cole and Koenigseder won their doubles match, 8-1, as did the GHS duo of Webb and Roberts, winning 8-4. But Berg and Belue lost 2-8, Forrester and Wirth fell 4-8, and the twin sister duo of juniors Bailey and Averi Abbott lost 2-8.
In boys’ play, the GHS duo of Grayson Vaughn and Lucas Hefflin notched the only victory for the home team, winning a close match, 8-6. Acosta and Hoskyn lost 0-8 while Jarrell and Jones were defeated 1-8. In singles play, Schafer lost 5-8, Whisenhunt fell 2-8, Eason Line lost 4-8, and Connor Jones dropped his match, 1-8.
“[The Southside match] was a tough one,” said Coach Pearcy. “We only got a handful of wins tonight. Southside is a good program. They’ve got some tennis pros that work at Hardscrabble [Country Club] and Ben Geren [Park] that give lessons and clinics that help out with their team. They’ve got a good solid program. Our kids probably could have competed a little better tonight. They didn’t hit the ball necessarily real well.”
Van Buren at Greenwood
Last Thursday, August 25th, Van Buren visited South Sebastian County and captured two team victories from Greenwood, though the overall match count was very close. The Lady Pointers defeated the Lady Bulldogs, 6-4, while the Van Buren boys slipped past the Bulldogs, 5-4.
In girls’ play, Van Buren dominated the seven singles matches, winning five of them. Greenwood’s Bella King (2-8), Mackenzie Cannon (7-9), Claire Roberts (5-8), Abby Webb (4-8), and Mackenzie Magness (1-8) all lost their matches, while Bailey Abbot (6-6, 7-4) and Averi Abbott (8-8, 9-7) won their matches in mixed varsity and junior varsity play.
The Lady Bulldogs then won two of their three doubles matches. Harper Berg and Lydiah Belue partnered to win 8-6 while Laykn Forrester and Emma Wirth combined forces to win 8-4. The GHS duo of Maleah Cole and Emma Koenigseder lost their doubles match, 3-8.
The Bulldogs managed to win two of their seven singles matches, led by J.J. Acosta (8-3) and Conner Jones (8-3). Greenwood’s Alex Schafer (0-8), Keaton Whisenhunt (2-8), Brendon Hoskyn (6-8), Eason Lin (2-8), and Wesley Jarrell (3-8) all dropped their matches. But the GHS boys did win both doubles matches against Van Buren. Acosta and Hoskyn teamed up to win 8-4, while Grayson Vaughn and Lucas Hefflin partnered for an 8-4 victory.
Greenbrier-Harrison at Arkansas Tech
This past Tuesday both GHS teams traveled to Russellville’s Arkansas Tech University for a three-way match with both Greenbrier and Harrison. Greenwood played eight matches against each school, winning all eight against Greenbrier and five of the eight against Harrison. The GHS girls went unbeaten for the day, going 8-0. The GHS boys were 5-3 overall.
Against the Lady Goblins of Harrison, the Lady Bulldogs won two extremely tight singles matches. Bella King won in a tiebreaker, 8-8 (7-4), and Mackenzie Cannon won, 9-7. In doubles action Greenwood’s Harper/Berg won their match, 8-3, and Forrester/Wirth captured their match, 8-5.
For the Bulldogs, they lost both singles matches to the Goblins. Alex Schafer lost 0-8 and Conner Jones fell, 2-8. Greenwood did manage to win one doubles match when J.J. Acosta and Brendon Hoskyn proved victorious, 8-3. The GHS duo of Vaughn and Hefflin lost their match, 4-8.
Against the Greenbrier Panthers, the Bulldogs made a clean sweep, winning all four boys matches. Schafer (8-4) and Whisenhunt (8-4) won their singles matches while Acosta/Hoskyn (8-1) and Vaughn/Hefflin (8-0) also won.
The Lady Bulldogs had similar success against the Greenbrier girls. Bell King won her match, 8-1, and Mackenzie Cannon beat her opponent, 8-2. The doubles team of Forrester/Wirth won their match, 8-2, while the team of Berg/Belue won their match, 8-4.
Both GHS teams will be off until after the Labor Day holiday when they return to competition at home against the Alma Airedales next Tuesday, September 6th. They will also play next Thursday against Russellville, again at the Greenwood community courts adjacent to the GHS campus.