Finally back: EHS tennis competes at Newton
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
At least one Emporia High sports team got to play for once in the last week.
The EHS boys tennis team competed at the Newton Invitational on Wednesday, which was rescheduled because of rain from last Thursday. Emporia finished third as a team with 18 points, with Winfield taking the title with 24 points followed by Salina Central in second with 22 points.
In its first action of the season, the No. 1 doubles team of Grant Price and Kyle deBlonk finished second by winning its first two matches of the day before falling, 8-6, in the title match against R.G. Yule and Lutz Lai of Derby.
Price and deBlonk made it to the title match with a pair of 8-3 victories over teams from Newton and Salina Central.
At the No. 2 doubles spot, Mark DeDonder and Nathan Ferree also finished third.
DeDonder and Ferree opened the tournament with a hard-fought 8-7(7-2) victory over David Dunn and Austin Walls of Derby. The pair followed that win by dispatching of Winfield’s Richard Lumm and Alan Phengchanhone, 8-2.
However, like their No. 1 counterparts, DeDonder and Ferree fell in the title match, dropping an 8-2 decision to Tanner Rohr and Michael Ethridge of Salina Central.
In singles action, Emporia picked up a pair of fifth-place finishes.
Chris Reimer competed at the No. 1 singles spot, where he fell in his opening match, 8-1, to Winfield’s Phil Anderson before bouncing back to dominate his next two matches over Campus’ Phillip Praseuth, 8-1, and Derby’s Jayson James, 8-2.
Jonathan Roman followed a similar path to his fifth-place showing, dropping his first match to Ben Fangman of Hutchinson, 8-4, before taking victories over Newton’s Luke Schmidt, 8-3, and Campus’ Aaron Shear, 8-3.
The team will be back in action today when it travels to the Seaman Invitational.
No. 1 doubles
Grant Price/Kyle deBlonk (Emp) defeated Edwards/Willems (New), 8-3; Price/deBlonk defeated Gilliam/Gilliam (SC), 8-3; Yule/Lai (Der) defeated Price/deBlonk, 8-6.
No. 2 doubles
Mark DeDonder/Nathan Ferree (Emp) defeated Dunn/Walls (Der), 8-7(7-2); DeDonder/Ferree defeated Gumm/Phengchanhone (Win), 8-2; Rohr/Ethridge (SC) defeated DeDonder/Ferree, 8-2.
No. 1 singles
Anderson (Win) defeated Chris Reimer (Emp), 8-1; Reimer defeated Praseuth, 8-1; Reimer defeated James (Der), 8-2.
No. 2 singles
Fangman (Hutch) defeated Jonathan Roman (Emp), 8-4; Roman defeated Schmidt (New), 8-3; Roman defeated Shear (Cam), 8-3.