After a slow start, the Greenwood High School tennis teams are nearing the halfway point of their season under Head Coach Dexter Pearcy and volunteer assistant Randy Magness. The excessive heat of late August and a delay in finishing the newly rebuilt GHS community courts caused the cancellation or rescheduling of some early matches. But the courts are now complete, the heat appears to be a thing of the past, and the season marches on.
When play finally began, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs traveled to Russellville on August 29th to take on both the Cyclones and the Mountain Home Bombers. Russellville is a key site for all the teams in the 5A West due to its central location that allows schools to reduce travel time and expenses. Matches are played at either Russellville High School or Arkansas Tech University, or both. The conference tournament will also be held there October 2-3.
The GHS ladies did well against the Lady Cyclones, winning three of four (3-1) matches. However, the Bulldogs lost all four of their matches, giving Russellville the overall win, 5-3. Team results are based on the scores of the top two singles and top two doubles matches for both girls and boys. Other matches are sometimes also held involving younger and non-varsity players.
For the Lady Bulldogs, senior Bella King dropped her singles match, 3-6, 1-6, but junior teammate Emma Koenigseder won her match handily, 6-1, 6-1. The GHS doubles team of junior Harper Berg and senior Lydiah Belue won their match, 6-0, 6-1, while senior teammates Maleah Cole and Emma Wirth also won their match in similar dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-0.
The GHS boys lost both their singles and doubles matches to a talented Russellville squad. Senior J.J. Acosta fell in his singles match, 2-6, 1-6, while junior teammate Alex Schaefer lost 2-6, 3-6. Juniors Lucas Hefflin and Eason Lin lost in a very competitive doubles match that required a pair of tiebreakers, 6-7 (6-9), 7-5 (5-10). Junior Keaton Whisenhunt and sophomore Wesley Jarrell also fell, 1-6, 2-6. “Russellville has a foreign exchange student from Venezuela. He’s a singles player who is really good,” said Coach Pearcy.
That same day Greenwood and Mountain Home played another match with the Bombers winning by an overall score of 7-1. GHS #1 singles player Bella King won the only contest for Greenwood in convincing fashion, 6-3, 6-1. #2 singles player Emma Koenigseder lost her match in a tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-4 (3-10). In doubles play the #1 duo of Berg and Belue lost 6-7 (7-9), 4-6, while teammates Cole and Wirth fell 4-6, 4-6.
In boys play, Greenwood #1 singles player J.J. Acosta lost his outing 3-6, 4-6, while #2 singles player Alex Schaefer dropped his match, 3-6, 3-6. The #1 duo of Hefflin and Eason lost by identical scores of 1-6, while the #2 pair of Whisenhunt and Jarrell also lost to Mountain Home by matching scores, 0-6, 0-6.
A couple days later, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs played at Van Buren in a match originally slated for Greenwood, but the fencing around the GHS courts was not quite finished, so the competition was moved. Van Buren is expected to be one of the better teams in the league, especially in boys play, and that was evident in the final scores against Greenwood, winning the overall match, 2-6.
The Lady Bulldogs won the only two matches for Greenwood, one in singles play and one in doubles action. Bella King fell in her #1 singles match, 6-2, 5-7 (5-10), while #2 Emma Koenigseder won easily, 6-0, 6-0. In doubles play, #1 teammates Berg and Belue won their match, 6-4, 7-5, while the #2 GHS duo of Cole and Wirth lost 6-3, 2-6 (6-10).
In junior varsity play, senior Bailey Abbott lost 3-8, senior Claire Roberts won 8-1, and the doubles team of sophomore Mackenzie Magness and freshman Alivia Kittell won 8-5. The duo of senior Averi Abbott and Marie Fueess also won, 8-1.
In boys varsity action, J.J. Acosta fell 3-6, 3-6, while Alex Schaefer lost 4-6, 0-6. The doubles team of Hefflin and Eason fell 0-6, 3-6, and Whisenhunt and Jarrell dropped their match in very competitive fashion requiring a pair of tiebreakers, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), (5-10). In junior varsity boys play, senior Jamie Chang won his match, 8-6, while the doubles duo of Noah Brown and Jon David Hefflin, both freshmen, lost 2-8. Freshman Caleb Schaefer and net mate Thomas Veatch won their match, 8-3.
After a somewhat uneven and grueling start to their season, the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs finally had a breather at Alma on September 5th, winning seven of eight (7-1) matches. The GHS girls went undefeated (4-0) while the Greenwood boys won three of their four matches. Greenwood also won five of six junior varsity matches.
Bella King won her singles match, 6-0, 6-0, and Emma Koenigseder won her match by the same score, 6-0, 6-0. In doubles play, Harper Berg and Lydiah Belue partnered for a 6-0, 6-3 win, while Maleah Cole and Emma Wirth teamed for a 6-1, 6-3 victory. In junior varsity doubles play, the duo of Bailey Abbott and Claire Roberts won, 6-2, 6-4.
On the boys side at Alma, J.J. Acosta won his match in close fashion, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Alex Schaefer won his match, 6-3, 6-2. The doubles duo of Hefflin and Eason lost their match, 3-6, 2-6. The team of Whisenhunt and Jarrell won their doubles match, 6-1, 6-1, while Jamie Change won his junior varsity singles match, 6-0.
Last Thursday Greenwood hosted the Siloam Springs netters in what was hopefully the season’s last match played in 90 degree temperatures. The Lady Bulldogs went 3-1 in varsity play while the GHS boys went 1-3, leaving the overall match deadlocked at 4-4. The Panthers and Lady Panthers won the majority of the junior varsity matches, 2-6.
In varsity singles play, Bella King (6-0, 6-0) and Emma Koenigseder (6-3, 6-3) were both winners. In doubles play, the duo of Berg and Belue lost 6-3, 3-6, (6-10), while teammates Cole and Wirth won their match, 6-1, 6-2. In junior varsity play, the GHS doubles teams of Bailey Abbott and Claire Roberts won 6-1, Averi Abbot and Marie Fueess lost 3-6, while Mackenzie Magness and Alivia Kittell lost 0-6.
In GHS boys play, J.J. Acosta won his singles match, 6-4, 4-6, (10-7), and teammate Alex Schaefer dropped his match in close fashion, 5-7, 6-7 (6-8). In doubles play, the duo of Hefflin and Chang teamed up for a 1-6, 3-6, loss. The #2 team of Whisenhunt and Jarrell also lost, 5-7, 2-6. The Bulldogs also played five junior varsity sets. Caleb Schaefer lost his set, 5-7, Jon David Hefflin lost, 1-6, and Noah Brown lost his singles set, 0-6. In JV doubles play, Noah Brown and Tomas Veatch lost their match, 3-6, while Caleb Schaefer and Thomas Veatch won their outing, 6-0.
Recently, Coach Pearcy spoke briefly about his observations so far this season. “Bella King has won back-to-back matches without giving up a game, so she’s playing really well. It’s been a little bit of an adjustment [for J.J. Acosta],” who moved from doubles to singles play this season. “He’s playing against the best that our conference has, and there are a lot of differences mentally and physically between doubles and singles. You’re out there on an island by yourself in singles. Sometimes in double if you make a mistake your partner can make up for it. But I think he is making that transition. He’s mentally tough and resilient and super competitive.”
Asked about qualifying players for state play, Pearcy said both Acosta and King will have a good chance to qualify for state at the conference tournament. “Emma Koenigseder has played well, and Harper Berg and Lydiah Belue have played well, and I think they’ve got good shots at making it to state.” The state tournament will be held this year in Little Rock on October 9-10.
Both GHS teams were scheduled to return to the court on Monday this week against both Greenbrier and Harrison, with the matches being played at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. On Thursday they will play at home against Van Buren. The season’s first conference matches against Greenbrier and Harrison, scheduled for August 22nd, will now be played at the end of the season on September 28th.