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By: Chris Evans
The final tournament of the year at Heritage Hall was the final tune up as regionals are here for both the Guthrie tennis teams. The Lady Jays finished in 4th place while the Jays ended up 7th in the Heritage Hall Tournament.
Both Ada and Carl Albert competed in the tourney and finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in front of the Lady Jays. Guthrie will be hosting the regionals and all three teams will be at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center on Monday.
Guthrie's No. 1 singles player, Kaitlyn Wade, placed 4th. Wade beat Hanna Hale from Edmond Memorial 6-3, 6-1 and then lost to Kristen Clubb of Ada 6-3, 6-1. In her third place match she lost to Anadarko 6-1, 6-0.
"She played much better than she did during Conference, on Monday, and the competition for her was tougher at the Heritage Hall Tournament," head coach Mary Hudson said.
Brittney Berryman, in No. 2 singles, got off to a slow start, but placed 5th. She lost to Laura Medcalf who she had beaten earlier in the year. She won her second round against Kaitlin Goetz of Edmond Memorial 6-1, 6-1. In the consolation finals she defeated Krysta Mitchell, from Perry, who she had lost to earlier in the year, but as the day went on, she played much better.
The No. 1 doubles team of Amy Hudson and Janie Nolen placed 4th. In their first round match they defeated Anadarko in straight sets. In the second set they were down 2-5 and came back and won 5 straight games to come back and win 6-3, 7-5. Hudson and Nolen lost their second round match to, top seed, Ada 6-1, 6-3. For their third place match they lost to Carl Albert 6-1, 6-4.
Mary Hudson hopes her doubles team can regroup with Carl Albert in the horizon again.
"They will probably see Carl Albert again on Monday during regionals, so I hope they can find away to beat them Monday. They beat them last weekend in Duncan, but have struggled with this team since," Mary Hudson concluded.
Guthrie's No. 2 doubles team of Brooke Powell and Paige Powell placed 6th. These two freshman continue to compete hard after starting the season playing junior varsity. They lost to Carl Albert in the first round 6-0, 6-0. In the second round they defeated Edmond Santa Fe 6-1, 7-5. They lost a hard fought match in the consolation finals to Anadarko 7-6, 6-4.
Mary Hudson feels confident in her Lady Jays that they can qualify for state. "If all the girls play well on Monday they should make it to state. Their our eight teams in our regional and we have to place in the top four for each event."
Bluejays have week to prepare for regionals
The 7th place finish at the Heritage Hall Tournament was not what the doctor and Hank Hudson had ordered for the Bluejays. Guthrie was missing Hank Hudson as he was unable to play due to an eye injury, in which, hurt Guthrie's effectiveness to score higher in the team standings. Julius Gamboa replaced him on the No. 1 doubles team.
Bluejays No. 1 singles player, Michael Oates, placed 6th. Oates took on the top seed in the first round, Austin Manger from Carl Albert and almost came away with the win, but would drop straight sets.
"Michael had a great day and had his chances to upset the top seed. He lost his first set in a tie-breaker and continued to play Austin hard in the second set, but lost it 6-4, Mary Hudson said.
Oates, in the second round, got a great win over Derek Cohlmia from Hertiage Hall. Hudson said she believed this was an upset and was proud of how hard he played by winning 6-4 and 6-4. In the final round, Oates lost to the three seed of the tournament Nathan LaPointe, from Anadarko, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6.
In No. 2 singles Corey Cain placed 8th by taking on some stiff competition. Cain lost to the three seed in the first round from Edmond Santa Fe 6-1, -1. Then Cain took on the two seed, from Carl Albert, who had been upset in the first round 6-1, 6-2 and in his final round he lost to Ada 6-3, 7-5.
"He had an unusual tough draw since that two seed was upset in the first round and he competed very hard, Mary Hudson said.
The new No. 1 doubles team of Daniel Breedlove and Julius Gamboa placed 8th. According to Mary Hudson, they competed hard in each round, but it was difficult since Daniel did not have his normal partner Hank Hudson. Breedlove and Gamboa lost to Carl Albert in the second round 6-1, 6-2.
"Hudson and Breedlove have beaten this team the last three times they have seen them, I was proud of the effort they put out. Unfortunately, Breedlove twisted his ankle after all his matches, so I hope this team is not falling apart, because they have an excellent chance of being seeded at the state tournament," Mary Hudson said.
The No. 2 doubles team of Will Bohanan and Josh Wehrenberg placed 7th. They lost their first two rounds but defeated Perry for the 7th placed match 6-0, 6-0.
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