COFFEYVILLE — Always trying to find the right fit for the players he has on the team, Iola High boys’ tennis coach Lyle Kern switched the Mustangs around for Tuesday’s Coffeyville Invitational.
Juniors Zeph Larney and Jordan Strickler went from playing singles to being paired as Iola’s No. 1 doubles team. First-year senior Brad Bazo and first-year junior Hayden Wolf played as the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players for Iola, respectively.
Drew Smith, a junior, and first-year junior Stephen McDonald were put together for the first time as Iola’s No. 2 doubles.
Despite coming out of the tournament with just one win — by Bazo in No. 1 singles — Kern said he was pleased with what he saw from the Mustang players.
“I saw improvement in everybody from the first match to the last. I really enjoyed watching Jordan and Zeph play doubles. We did a few twists to the normal game of doubles and they used it well,” Kern said. “I think I may keep this lineup for awhile.”
Kern said Bazo played well all day using lots of hustle in the No. 1 singles spot. He lost 8-0 to Brad Eastman of Coffeyville and to Parsons’ Kevin DeBald. Hank Cloninger, Pittsburg, beat Bazo 8-3.
Bazo’s final match against Kevin Morgan of Chanute went to a tiebreaker. Bazo won the close match with a tiebreaker score of 13-11 for an 8-7 victory.
Wolf dropped three 8-0 decisions to Coffeyville’s Drew Rising, Parsons’ Zach Larson and Pittsburg’s Brandon Smith. Kern said Wolf showed improvement but the No. 2 singles division was really tough. Wolf lost 8-2 to Chanute’s Cornell Littlejohn.
Larney and Strickler lost 8-2 to Josh Mitchell and Quinton Hershey of Coffeyville, then fell 8-5 to Parsons’ Patrick Jacquinot and Tyler Beachmore. Pittsburg’s Jake Cloninger and Sean Perkins beat Larney and Strickler 8-3. Larney and Strickler lost 8-4 to Chanute’s Ian Chesier and Tyler Dillow.
McDonald and Smith lost 8-0 to Coffeyville’s Austin Holeman and David Paul Kritz then lost 8-2 to Parsons’ True Williamson and Malik Nauenberg. The Iola pair lost 8-1 to Pittsburg’s Kaleb Koenig and Jake Creech and dropped an 8-3 decision ot Chanute’s Ryan Madden and Hunter King.
Kern said McDonald spent hours over the weekend working on his first serve and it was evident. Smith also has been working on his serve in practice and it too is paying off, Kern said.
The Mustangs play at Chanute Friday.
