BonnerSprings.com

The Bonner Springs boys tennis team played host to a dual against Lincoln Academy on Tuesday afternoon and fared very well by winning several singles and doubles matches.

Bill Rhodes, Chris Jenkins and Blaine Lewis each won their singles matches, and the teams of Zach Cook and Ethan Isaacs, Ted Pauley and Kevin Beashore and Zach Holder and Kyle Toland were victorious in their matches.

It was supposed to be the final warm-up before the Class 5A regional tournament, which will take place at 9 a.m. today at BSHS. The Shawnee Mission West meet had to be rescheduled due to a National Honor Society conflict, however, so the Braves played again Wednesday. Results were not available by press time.

BSHS coach Bill Scott would rather have to play tough matches the day before regionals, noting that practice this time of year would not help as much as heated competition.

Last week at the Leavenworth Invitational, Bonner Springs finished third behind Lansing and Sumner in the team standings.

Toland and Holder placed first at No. 1 doubles, but it was not easy. After losing the first set, they had to win a tiebreaker in the second set to stay alive. Tournament rules state that instead of playing a third set, the teams had to play a tiebreaker that determined the winner. Holder and Toland stormed to victory, thriving in the high-stress situation.

"I told them to make sure they won the match before it started because Bonner Springs has not lost (a No. 1 doubles match in the tournament) this millennium," Scott said. "It was close, but we kept the streak intact and have stretched it out to eight years."

The regional tournament will include Sumner Academy, Bonner Springs, St. Thomas Aquinas, Bishop Miege, Lansing, Washington and Pittsburg. The top four singles players and top four doubles teams from the regional will advance to the state tournament May 9-10 in Wichita.

Holder and Toland have the best shot of any Braves at making a run to state, Scott said.

"Those two perform better the bigger the tournaments, and regionals is as big as it gets," he said.

Another noteworthy player for the Braves this year is freshman Jacob Moulin. He has worked his way up from No. 16 on the "ladder" - a tennis team depth chart - all the way into the No. 6 spot. That position carries a lot of responsibility with it because that means he will be playing at regionals, something his coach did not expect at the beginning of the year.

"He has been playing very well," Scott said. "He has been a nice addition to our team."

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