McPherson, KS — After a delay due to issues at the high school, the McPherson High junior varsity girls tennis team hosted their tournament on Tuesday and placed second in the team standings while earning first place in two of the four divisions. As a team, the JV Lady Bullpups scored 20 team points to finish runner-up to Valley Center with 23. Hesston with 18 and Buhler with 17 rounded out the top four while Hutchinson, Smoky Valley, Great Bend, and Campus rounded out the eight-team field. “After a delayed start to the tournament we felt the players made the most of their time on the courts today,” explained JV coach Ricardo Sanchez. “Whether it was from nervousness or trying to decompress after the situation at the high school, several of our girls seemed mentally shaken in their first few matches. I did feel that they started to settle in after a couple of matches and we ended the evening with everyone playing well and everyone winning their final match. As we get better at recognizing where balls are going to go, we’ll hopefully be able to be more aggressive at the net.” Jadin Nowell scored a tournament trophy for taking first in the #2 singles division after going 4-0 on the day. “After battling nerves early on and winning two matches 6-5, Jadin (Nowell) found her consistency in her championship match,” pointed out coach Sanchez. “This should give her a lot of confidence moving forward.” In the #1 doubles division, the freshman duo of Avery Eveland and Erin Olson took first for the second time this season as they also went 4-0 for the day. Talking about his #1 doubles duo, coach Sanchez said, “Erin (Olson) and Avery (Eveland) continue to play well as they went 4-0 today. They had a tough championship match against Buhler but were able to hit deep groundstrokes to keep their opponents from attacking the net. As they get more comfortable poaching at the net, their games will only continue to get better.” Jordan Martens finished fifth at #1 singles with a 2-2 mark for the tournament while Adylaide Crocker and Abilene Frye placed seventh with a 1-3 record for the day in #2 doubles. Coach Sanchez concluded his post-tournament reflections by adding, “Jordan (Martens) finished the day strong playing her more usual game in her final match after struggling with her confidence early on. If she can continue to attack the ball and play loose, I know she will feel more confident in the upcoming tournaments. Abilene (Frye) and Adylaide (Crocker) had some close matches early on that just did not go their way but were able to find consistency in their final match of the night to leave with a win.” Next for the junior varsity Lady Bullpup tennis team will come when they host six-team invitational on Tuesday, September 6. Teams scheduled to participate are Andover, Goddard Eisenhower, Haysville/Campus, Hutchinson, and Newton. Source: https://mcpherson-county-ks.com/2022/08/30/jv-girls-tennis-place-2nd-nowell-eveland-olson-take-1st/