PITTSBURG Against the likes of Bishop Miege, Pittsburg and Fort Scott, Iola proved to be right in the mix Thursday, taking third at Pittsburgs Invitational Tennis Tournament.
The Mustangs also did not bring a second doubles team, so their 13 team points came from just their two singles players and their top doubles team.
Leading the way for the Mustangs was the No. 1 doubles team of Bret Plumlee and Elijah Fawson.
After an 8-6 opening win over Bishop Miege, the duo went on to smite Labette, 8-1, to win their pool.
They closed things out with an 8-1 win over Fort Scott to get the top finish.
Top singles player Jon Miller finished 2-1, beating Labettes Luke Falkenstein, 8-3, before falling, 8-1, to Mieges Evan Acuff.
Miller bounced back with an 8-3 win over Fort Scotts Allen Santana in the final round to secure a third-place finish.
Junior Eason Cheung competed in the number two singles spot and despite losing both of his pool matches to Mieges Liam Hyland (8-1) and Labettes Joel Mathes (8-2), he came back to win his final match, 8-4, over Columbus Jackson Osborn to stay out of last place.
With Plumlee and Fawsons win over Fort Scott, along with Millers win over Fort Scott, it was enough to give Iola the tiebreaking edge to take third.
The Mustangs will resume their season Tuesday in Coffeyville.
