LOCAL SPORTS IN BRIEF
TENNIS

Varsity, JV do well in tournaments

A day after rain and wet courts forced postponement, the Kilgore High School tennis team finally got to compete against All-Saints on Wednesday afternoon.

The outing didn't come out in Kilgore's favor - All-Saints won six of the 10 matchups - but it did allow the Bulldogs to get some work in, coach Jason Maroney said, against good competition.

In boys singles matchups, Kilgore's' Josh Way lost to Ben Wallace, 6-1, 4-6, 10-1, and Kade Bittick lost to Travis Gerrard, 6-0, 6-0.

Haley Smith beat All-Saints' Sydney Booth, 6-1, 6-1, in the girls' No. 1 singles match. Kilgore's Emily Spence beat Lexie Massing, 6-3, 6-1.

In boys doubles play, Jody Madding and Josh Bailey lost to Nathan Edgemon and Cliff Brookshire, 6-0, 6-1, and Joe Worden and Ethan High lost to All-Saints' team of Sam Hedrick and Austin Jones, 1-6, 6-4, 13-11. Kilgore's girls doubles units also lost - Emily Mitis and Brittany Conner lost to Taylor Lottman and Alex Hembree, 6-4, 6- 3, and Lauren Terry and Meredith Gregg lost to Chelsea Cohen and Lauren Leigheber, 6-4, 6-7, 10-5.

Kilgore's mixed doubles teams did well. Trevar Compton and Callie Cunyus beat John Keech and Kristin Armstrong, 6-1, 6-3, and Eric Applegate and Shelby Duncan beat Andy Cheng and Claire Chilton, 6-1, 6-2.

The varsity team travels to Center on Tuesday.

The junior varsity team took part in a JV tournament at Tyler Lee on Thursday. Some varsity teams were in the mix, though, Maroney said, and affected the tournament in later rounds. Kilgore finished second among JV teams to Texas High's first place, and finished third overall, Maroney noted.

Kilgore's Caitlind Trowbridge and Shawna Bass finished second in girls doubles, losing in the championship to a Grand Saline team.

Again, KHS did well in mixed doubles, with Kaylea Clower and Brian Park winning the consolation title, taking down a Terrell team, 8-3. Chance Grantham and Linsey Cardoso lost in the quarterfinals to a varsity team from Palestine.

Trent Raby represented Kilgore well in boys singles, making it all the way to the semifinals before losing to Lindale's Kelly McClellan. Jose Tapia and Jeremy Berryhill lost to an Ore City varsity team in the boys doubles quarterfinals. Courtney Foxworth and Naomi Worden lost in the girls doubles quarterfinals, also to a varsity team from Grand Saline.

The JV will be back in action Feb. 5, also at Center.

BASEBALL

Booster club meeting Monday

There will be a meeting of the Kilgore High School baseball booster club on Monday at 7 p.m. at the baseball field house (beside Driller Park). Items to be discussed include coaches and stadium projects, sponsors and donations, memberships, merchandise, and the financial report.

Members are asked to attend, if at all possible.

BASKETBALL

Kilgore teams face Nac tonight

It's a big, big game for the Kilgore High School girls basketball team tonight, as the Lady Bulldogs play at Nacogdoches. A win for the coach Davia Garrett's varsity Lady 'Dogs would move them into a tie with Nac for first place in District 12-4A.

Junior varsity will play at 6 p.m., followed by varsity. Kilgore is 12-8 overall, and 8-2 in 12-4A play. Nac is 9-1 in district play. Both teams are coming off of Tuesday night losses.

The boys basketball programs from those two schools meet tonight here in Kilgore, beginning with the freshmen at 5 p.m., then junior varsity and varsity.

SOCCER

Marshall is tonight's opposition

The Kilgore High School soccer teams, which both lost to Lindale Tuesday night, have another round of District 17-4A games tonight against Marshall.

The Lady Bulldogs will play here at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium - the JV girls will play at 5:30 p.m., and the varsity afterward. The Bulldogs play at Marshall, and also begin at 5:30 with JV. Alice Crocker coaches the girls' JV program, and Joey Pippen the boys.

Coach Amanda Walzel's varsity Lady Bulldogs are 1-2 in district play, and coach Kris Duplissey's varsity boys have the same district record. Both teams will have an open date on Tuesday, then face Pine Tree Friday.

KSA registration resumes Saturday

Registration for the spring season of the Kilgore Soccer Association will be conducted once again this Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., to be conducted at the sports complex out on Highway 135. That's also where the games are played on Saturday mornings.

Sign-up fee for new players is $60, and for returning players, the sign-up fee is $40. There are discount prices available for families who wish to register two or more children. New players should have a copy of their birth certificate with them at registration.

For any further questions, call (903) 983-3053 and leave a detailed message.

Rent-a-player dinner Monday

The KHS Soccer Booster Club is hosting our annual rent-a-player dinner and auction on Monday night, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the KHS Cafeteria.

This is our big fundraiser for the year. We really need you to attend. Please invite anyone you know that is interested in soccer. The fare will be hot dogs, chili dogs, nachos, Frito pies, etc. along with some desserts.

After dinner, boys and girls players will be "auctioned off" to provide four hours of manual labor to the winning bidder(s).

This event has been a tradition for the soccer programs, as well as a great fundraiser. Most of the money raised by this event is used for college scholarships for senior soccer players.

Anyone with questions can call Bobby Bustin at (903) 237-3595.

- BY SPORTS EDITOR MITCH LUCAS