KHS takes second at JT tourney
TENNIS
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

With more than a week having gone by between the last two tournaments for the Kilgore High School tennis team, it might have been a little bit of a surprise to the team and coach Jason Maroney how well it did at a tournament at John Tyler High School over the weekend.

Ten of the 16 players that represented Kilgore in the JT tournament won either first or second place in their divisions, Maroney said, and Kilgore took second place overall (All- Saints finished first). Probably the most impressive was a win by KHS mixed doubles duo of Trevar Compton and Callie Cunyus over Chris Lee and Kacy Aldredge of Spring Hill, a two-time state tournament qualifying team.

Also, KHS girls No. 1 Haley Smith won her first tournament title of this spring season.

The junior varsity Bulldogs was to play at a Valentine's Day tournament today in Lindale, and the varsity is off until this weekend, visiting Coppell to play in another tournament.

The road to the JT Tournament's mixed doubles A title was paved with victories for Compton and Cunyus, who beat Cheng/Kristen of All- Saints, 8-1, in the first round; beat the Center team of Corday/ Burns, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals; and a 4-6, 7-6 (7- 3), 10-8 win over Lee and Aldredge in the title match.

Eric Applegate and Shelby Duncan also did well for KHS in mixed doubles, taking second place in the mixed doubles B division. The Kilgore team beat Price/Gonzalez of Henderson, 8-1; beat Dement and Stirnerman of Jacksonville, 6- 3, 6-2 in the semifinals; and lost to the All-Saints team of Easley and Grindstaff, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the finals.

Smith played maybe her best tennis of the spring to date, winning three matches in girls A singles, including the finals. She beat Antoni Lopez of John Tyler, 8-1; beat Shawana Millhoff of Henderson, 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals; and beat All- Saints' Lauren Leihgeber, 6-2, 6-2, in the finals.

Another KHS girls singles player - Emily Spence - did very well, too, finishing second in girls B singles. She won her first two matches (8-4 over Krista Fletcher) and her second match (over Jennifer Loden of Spring Hill, 6-1, 6-3). She lost to Lexie Messing of All-Saints, 6-4, 6-2, in the finals.

Getting to the finals in the different divisions became the theme of the day for the Bulldogs. Courtney Foxworth and Linsey Cardoso also made it to the finals. The girls doubles team beat an Athens duo of Boykin and Gillespie, 8-4; they beat a Whitehouse team of Beasley and Bynum, 6-0, 6-0; and then they lost to the team of Hudspeth and Fountain of Center in the finals, 6-2, 6-4.

In boys B doubles, Kade Bittick and Josh Bailey also won two matches. Bittick and Bailey beat Webb and Mondini, an Athens team, 8-3; they beat Alm and Wallis of Spring Hill, 7-5, 5-7, 10-7 in the semifinals; and lost to the All- Saints team of Brookshire and Jones, 6-2, 7-5, in the finals.