It’s about 283 miles from Powell to Rawlins, but the long trip proved worth it for the Panther tennis teams last weekend. The Powell High School boys and girls never dropped a set as they dismantled their Outlaw counterparts on Saturday for a pair of 5-0 victories.

“The opportunity to get out and really dominate is a plus,” said PHS head coach Joe Asay. “It’s just fun to have that — it’s a confidence builder.”

The Panthers have historically bested Rawlins in tennis, and there’s always the risk of playing down to the level of an opponent who’s weaker on paper, but Asay was pleased how his squad handled the matches.

“Everybody did well by just getting out there and competing and playing their game,” he said.

PHS girls No. 1 singles player Chase Anderson posted Powell’s best score on the day, sweeping her way to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Rawlins senior Alexis Townsend. Asay said the junior — who made the leap from No. 2 doubles a year ago — played “a smart heads-up game.”

Powell’s other three singles players — Kaili Wisniewski, Ethan Bartholomew and Aiden Chandler — also “did great to kind of just power through and get some wins” against Rawlins, Asay said.

But for the coach, the match that stood out the most was the boys’ No. 3 doubles match.

CJ Barrus and Kalin Hicswa cruised to a 6-2 win in the first set, but then ran into trouble in the second: Rawlins’ Elijah Longog and Ashton Barto snatched a 5-2 lead and they appeared on the verge of forcing a decisive third set.

However, Hicswa and Barrus instead rallied to win the next five games, earning a 7-5 win and closing out Rawlins.

“That victory was just even that much more sweeter when you really have to figure out how to dig down and get it done,” Asay said.

The match was also a reminder about the importance of the mental aspect of the game and never giving up, because “it’s never over until you get to the end there,” the coach said.

Asay saw a lot of value in the Rawlins trip, not only in picking up some wins, but also in just getting more matches under the team’s belt.

“Just in general, I think everybody did really well,” he said.

The Panthers have a full slate this week in what will be the teams’ final matches of the regular season. This (Thursday) afternoon, PHS will look to exact some revenge on Cody, hosting the Broncs and Fillies at 4 p.m.

Although CHS took nine out of 10 matches on Aug. 31, Asay said his entire squad “played and competed very well against those Cody kids last week, so I’m excited to see them get out and compete this week.”

“I think it could be a fun day Thursday afternoon,” he said.

Then on Saturday, Powell will host the two Casper high schools, facing Kelly Walsh at 10 a.m. and Natrona County at 2 p.m.

Girls

Powell 5, Rawlins 0

No. 1 singles: Chase Anderson def. Alexis Townsend (Rawlins), 6-0, 6-0

No. 2 singles: Kaili Wisniewski def. Kristen Anderson (Rawlins), 6-3, 6-2

No. 1 doubles: Alli Harp/Hannah Hincks won by forfeit

No. 2 doubles: Alexis Terry/Lachelle Lee def. Kaylee Hooper/Sophyia Pacheco (Rawlins), 6-0, 6-2

No. 3 doubles: Hannah Sears/Tyler Sessions def. Adrianna Ochoa/Berkley Snyder (Rawlins), 6-0, 6-1

Boys

Powell 5, Rawlins 0

No. 1 singles: Ethan Bartholomew def. Spenser Searle (Rawlins), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2 singles: Aiden Chandler def. Griffin Searle (Rawlins), 6-1, 6-1

No. 1 doubles: LoganBrown/Kolt Flores def. Caleb Anderson/Lincoln Searle (Rawlins), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2 doubles: Cade Queen/Ryan Cordes def. Drew Dilworth/Chase Holcomb (Rawlins), 6-1, 6-2

No. 3 doubles: CJ Barrus/Kalin Hicswa def. Ashton Barto/Elijah Longog (Rawlins), 6-2, 7-5