2 doubles team wins home tourney

Thursday, September 22, 2011
Fort Scott's Courtney Crain gets ready to return a volley from Columbus' Ashley Simpson during a match at the Fort Scott Invitational Tuesday afternoon. Crain defeated Simpson, 8-1, but lost her other two matches and finished third in No. 1 singles. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

Fort Scott High School's No. 2 doubles team of Kenna Savage and Ashlyn Baugher won their pool of the Fort Scott Invitational Tuesday. The pair, who played together for just the third time this season, lost just 5 games all day.

"Kenna and Ashlyn had a solid tournament winning all three matches," Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr said. "Both of these players are continuing to improve and we will need good strong performances from them going into the SEK Tournament."

Savage and Baugher's toughest match came against their schoolmates, Brittany Burns and Kandice Rost, who were put in when Columbus was unable to bring a No. 2 doubles team. Savage and Baugher won the match, 8-4.

Next, Savage and Baugher (4-4) shut out Labette County's Tiffany Sexton/Caitlin Cross. They wrapped up the day with an 8-1 win over Independence's Calisse Papen/Zoe McCollam.

Michelle Buntain and Corina Harrison (9-4) went 2-1 in No. 1 singles. They shut out Columbus' Kristine Davolt/ Stacy Derfelt and beat LC's Lora Nance/Elyse Merritt, 8-6. They lost to Indy's Carington Julian/Sarah Derrick, 8-1.

"Michelle and Corina played some good tennis at times," Barr said. "They lost to the LC team earlier in the season and, although they weren't as sharp as possible through out the entire match, did come back with a solid win against them. They need to keep trying to raise their intensity level a little more and take advantage of opportunities to put the ball away and end points."

Krista Hightower (3-2) took second in No. 2 doubles in just her second varsity singles appearance, filling in for an ill Haleigh Whitten. Hightower beat Alyssa Goodwin of Columbus, 8-0, and Patty Stevenson of Labette County, 8-4. Taylor Mason of Independence defeated Hightower via shutout.

"(Hightower) played well on Monday in Parsons and continued that on Tuesday," Barr said. "Krista is making progress and we will be counting on her next year as a senior."

Courtney Crain (6-7) finished third in No. 1 singles. She defeated Ashley Simpson of Columbus, 8-1. She lost to Katie Anderson of Labette County, 8-0, and Tyra Welch of Independence, 8-1.

"Courtney had a tough tournament, but not because she didn't play well," Barr said. "She actually was stroking the ball pretty well and really began to hit some good overheads and volleys as the day progressed. Both of her losses came to very good players. Courtney is just a sophomore and is making progress. As she continues to become more consistent and continues to develop her game she will be able to raise her game to that next level"

Independence won the team title with 11 points with Fort Scott taking second with 8. Labette County was third with Columbus bringing up the rear.

In junior varsity action Monday at Parsons, Fort Scott finished third out of eight teams, trailing only Independence and Chanute.

Hightower went 2-1 in No. 1 singles, beating Patty Stevenson of Labette County, 6-2, and Kenzie Rea of Parsons, 6-1. She lost to Abby Luidahl of Chanute, 6-2.

Natalie Carr was also 2-1, playing No. 2 singles. She beat Parsons' Bailey Foster, 6-5 (7-3), and Iola's Brianne Jett, 6-1. She lost to Indy's Kalei Matthews, 6-0.

Burns and Rost were 1-2 in No. 1 doubles. They defeated Pittsburg's Mikayla Pichler/ Emily Hicks, 6-2. They lost to Indy's Shalei Matthews/ Kasi Dee Cox, 6-1, and Parsons' Sam Fletcher/Tiana Smith, 6-3.

Erin Thurston and Sky Tucker were 1-2 in No. 2 doubles. Their victory came over Iola's Jessica Adams/Caressa Lowell, 6-5 (7-2). They lost to Baldwin's Nakita Gandi/Bailey Boydston, 6-2, and Indy's Calisse Papen/Wendy Mejia , 6-1.

Fort Scott's varsity plays today at Pittsburg. The JV will play at Chanute Monday.