Panther tennis finished the season strong with both boys and girls teams finding some success. Cade Queen finished third after advancing to the semifinals and two girls’ doubles teams ended 3-2 at the state tennis tournament in Gillette. 

Queen started the weekend strong at No. 1 singles on Thursday, advancing in three sets against Thomas Smedley of Cheyenne Central 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.

That set up a quarterfinal matchup against Collin Crecelius from Cheyenne Central, where Queen came back from a 2-6 first set loss, winning 6-4, 6-4 to win.

In the semifinals, he came up against Campbell Gervais from Jackson, dropping the match 2-6, 3-6 to the eventual runner up.

Queen bounced back on Friday, earning his first victory of the season over Tade Geving from Cody in the consolation semifinals 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the third place game.

In the third place game Queen won 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) over Paulo Mellizo from Laramie.

“His play became just that much more consistent,” coach Joe Asay said. “He brings a really solid serve and then comes to the net and puts a lot of pressure on his opponent.”

In No. 2 singles Nathan Preator finished with a 1-2 record, winning his first matchup to advance to the quarterfinals before losing in the consolation bracket.

Kalin and Keegan Hicswa won their opening match to advance to the quarterfinals, but lost their next two matches to be eliminated in the consolation bracket.

Seeger Wormald and Isaac Stensing lost both of their matches to finish 0-2 on the weekend.

Ryan Barrus and Taeson Schultz won their first match, but lost their next two matches to finish 1-2 at No. 3 doubles.

On the girls side, No. 1 singles Chase Anderson lost her first match, but won in the first consolation round before dropping the second round to finish 1-2 on the weekend.

At No. 2 singles, Lachelle Lee won her first round before losing in the quarterfinal.

Lee won her first consolation round, but lost in the consolation quarterfinals to finish 2-2 on the weekend.

At No. 1 doubles, Sydney Hull and Alli Harp battled throughout the weekend, winning their first matchup before losing in the quarterfinals.

The pair won two straight consolation matches, but lost to the eventual third place team of Dorrell/Moore from Laramie in the consolation semifinals.

In No. 2 doubles the pair of Alexis Terry and Hannah Hincks followed a similar path to their No. 1 doubles teammates.

“It was fun for four of our five senior girls to advance that far, and to see those pairs play really well,” Asay said. “Playing that kind of doubles that we have been working towards.”

Terry and Hincks won their first matchup before dropping the quarterfinals. They won two straight matches before falling to Despain/Wenke from Cody in the consolation semifinals.

Maya Landwehr and Lucy Whipple lost their opening match, and went 1-1 in consolation play to finish 1-2 on the weekend.

LOOKING FORWARD

The Panthers will have a lot of adjustments heading into next year, with the girls losing five seniors to graduation and the boys bringing back nearly their entire team except for one player.

Asay said that he anticipates all players to return next year, and is hoping they will put in work over the next year to help keep the program progressing.

“On the boys side a lot of them will be looking to go into the basketball program and will use that opportunity to compete,” Asay said. “Some of those skills translate to tennis and are valuable.”

He hopes that once the spring season rolls around they will be able to put in some work even if they are competing in other sports, with the tennis courts opening up around late March.

BOYS

No. 1 singles: Cade Queen def. Thomas Smedley (Cheyenne Central) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0; Queen def. Collin Crecelius (Cheyenne East) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Campbell Gervais (Jackson) def. Queen 2-6, 3-6; Queen def. Tade Geving (Cody) 6-3, 6-4; Queen def. Paulo Mellizo (Laramie) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)

No. 2 singles: Nathan Preator def. Lincoln Searle (Rawlins) 6-2, 6-1; Nathaniel Thornell (Cheyenne Central) def. Preator 2-6, 2-6; Sean Brown (Sheridan) def. Preator 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6

No. 1 doubles: Kalin and Keegan Hicswa def. Davidson/Torres (Cheyenne South) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3; Olson/Webb (Jackson) def. Hicswa/Hicswa 6-7 (9-11), 3-6; Killpack/Krueger (Laramie) def. Hicswa/Hicswa 4-6, 6-7(3-7)

No. 2 doubles: Callihan/Hepworth (Laramie) def. Seeger Wormald/Isaac Stensing 5-7, 1-6; Jost/Zebroski (Sheridan) def. Wormald/Stensing 0-6, 4-6

No. 3 doubles: Ryan Barrus/Taeson Schultz def. Bechtel/Ibanez (Cheyenne South) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2; Dennis/Pikal (Laramie) def. Barrus/Schultz 0-6, 3-6; Seelye/Guevara (Cheyenne East) def. Barrus/Schultz 3-6, 2-6

GIRLS

No. 1 singles: Brianna Strauss (Green River) def. Chase Anderson 3-6, 6-3, 3-6; Anderson def. Finley Kastens (Cheyenne East) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); Sydni Bilyeu (Sheridan) def. Anderson 0-6, 3-6

No. 2 singles: Lachelle Lee def. Jamie Jones (Cheyenne South) 6-1, 6-1; Avery Strand (Kelly Walsh) def. Lee 1-6, 0-6; Lee def. Hannah Peterson (Laramie) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2; Karina Schoessler (Cody) def. Lee 2-6, 3-6

No. 1 doubles: Sydney Hull/Alli Harp def. Russell/Hurley (Torrington) 6-1, 6-3; Rabon/Ligocki (Sheridan) def. Harp/Hull 1-6, 2-6; Harp/Hull def. Graham/Christler (Cody) 6-2, 6-2; Harp/Hull def. Dray/Woods (Cheyenne East) 6-3, 6-2; Dorrell/Moore (Laramie) def. Harp/Hull 2-6, 4-6

No. 2 doubles: Hannah Hincks/Alexis Terry def. Watson/Jackson (Torrington) 6-2, 6-0; Gorsuch/Garcis (Thunder Basin) def. Hincks/Terry 4-6, 3-6; Hincks/Terry def. Hooper/Pacheco (Rawlins) 6-4, 6-1; Hincks/Terry def. Goldstein/Stafford (Jackson) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Despain/Wenke (Cody) def. Hincks/Terry 6-7 (5-7), 3-6

No. 3 doubles: Osterland/Kirkbride (Cheyenne Central) def. Maya Landwehr/Lucy Whipple 2-6, 1-6; Landwehr/Whipple def. Courtney/Bessinger (Cheyenne East) 7-5, 6-1; Frazier/Hays (Rock Springs) def. Landwehr/Whipple 4-6, 1-6