In the first of two matchups within a week the Powell High School tennis team split its games against visiting Cody at home on Thursday, as the Panther boys defeated the Broncs 4-1 while the Panther girls fell to the Fillies 4-1.

BOYS

POWELL 4, CODY 1

Taking on the Broncs the Panther boys had some close matches, starting at No. 1 singles where Memphis Solberg fell to Cody’s Beau Beachler 6-3, 6-4.

“Memphis had a good match out there with him, looking forward to seeing them jump back on the court again,” coach Joe Asay said.

In a back-and-forth match at No. 2 singles, Calvin Opps took the first set 6-2 over Cody’s Colby Beardall before losing the second set 6-0.

Since this was deemed as the nonconference matchup between the two teams, the pair did not play a full third set and instead played a super tiebreaker.

Opps pulled ahead early and took a 10-4 third set win.

“We knew that was going to be another good matchup,” Asay said. “That was a good win for Calvin.”

A new pairing took the court at No. 1 singles following an injury, as David Stensing joined Kazdyn Lee in place of Sawyer Wormald.

That duo took two narrow set wins, as they defeated Wesley Law and Alex Stewart 7-6 in both sets, winning the first set with a 7-5 tiebreaker and a 14-12 tiebreaker in the second set.

“It’s fun to see them play some really good tennis,” Asay said. “Good tennis, and I told them both that it’s just fun to see them have to battle through those tight points. There were several occasions where they (Cody) had set points through that second set tiebreaker … That was a good match for those guys.”

Tucker Phillips and Anton Brostrom moved up to No. 2 doubles, and they pulled off a close two set win over Cody’s Hunter Fenton and Harold Tutor 6-4, 7-5.

Taking on the No. 3 doubles role was the duo of Lincoln Hull and Josh Waite, as they had a strong win over Cody’s Ty Follweiler and Cade Ogden 6-2, 6-1.

“I like the matchups and I’m looking forward to seeing them getting out there and competing again against Cody,” Asay said.

GIRLS

CODY 4, POWELL 1

Welcoming in the Fillies the Panther girls were unable to compete at the No. 1 singles spot following a Naomi Whipple injury.

“Kind of a minor thing there. Just being thoughtful so she can not have it hinder her next week as far as our regular season goes,” Asay said.

That meant the Panthers first competitor was at No. 2 singles, as Aubrey Kelley defeated Cody’s Kenley Stevens. Kelley lost the first set 7-5, before rebounding with a 7-5 second set win of her own and ultimately winning the super tiebreaker 10-8.

“Aubrey is continuing to hit the ball that much better,” Asay said. “We’re just getting her to feel more and more comfortable on the court, and with her ability to make shots. Just recognizing when she should come in and press the net a little bit when she has the opportunities.”

Another close match came at No. 1 doubles, where Emma and Aubrey Bear fought back from an opening set loss 7-5 against Bella Beachler and Kimber Christler. The Bear cousins won set two 6-4 before falling in the super tiebreaker 10-3.

“They’re starting to kind of understand how to work together, how to move on the court, how to anticipate a little bit from their opponents,” Asay said. “I was excited to see that they could get out there and compete against those kids from Cody.”

The Panthers were unable to find the win at No. 2 doubles, as Ashlee Jacobsen and Brynn Kelley fell to Abbey Edwards and Josey Corso 6-1, 6-2.

Ava Kelley and Karen Richmond fell by an identical scoreline to Aliyah Geving and Layla Turcer at No. 3 doubles as Cody took the 4-1 win overall.

“Just a lot of really new tennis players (at 2 and 3 doubles) having the challenge of competing in varsity tennis,” Asay said. “It’s always great to have the senior maturity in there. We’re certainly glad to have Ashlee out with us, but she’s a brand new tennis player and it can be a lot to ask her to try and get out there and compete with another partner. Those remaining three girls are all freshmen … We came up short, but good match experience, glad to see those guys out there giving it a go.”

REGULAR SEASON ENDS

The Panthers are now in the final week of the regular season, and start matches with the second half against their Park County rivals with conference matches in Cody at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

“I always emphasize to these kids in the fall season, in the varsity season, it’s the competition side. We certainly hope to get as much as we can out of our practices, but it goes quickly here. A lot of that time is filled with just match play,” Asay said. “I’m excited to see how they’ll compete the rest of the way through the season here.”

Powell then heads to Casper on Saturday, taking on Kelly Walsh at 10 a.m. before taking on Natrona County at 2 p.m.

Asay said that since Casper has a ton of new courts, they should be able to take down a number of junior varsity players to get some matches to end the regular season.

“A good way to finish out the regular season for everybody,” Asay said.