Liberty Tennis Takes on John Paul
Before leaving for a battle against a strong John Paul tennis team earlier in October, head tennis coach Chase Hardin said, “There are two things that make a great athlete and role model. One, you have to want to be here, and two, you have to work hard and earn what you deserve.”
This match was Liberty’s first glance at what the road ahead them holds. Liberty swept the boys doubles with four strong wins. At line one, the boys doubles team of junior Chris Wells and sophomore Garrett Dennis scored a victory of 7-5, 6-2. At line two, the boys doubles team of freshmen Timmy Miller and Caleb Bishop won with a score of 6-4, 6-2. Also winning at boys doubles were the teams of freshmen Ross Early, Zechariah Liszewski, Spencer Mackenzie, and Nevan Simone.
The Warriors fell short in boys singles and won one out of four matches, with the win coming from freshman Aaron Ilami.
The girls went in knowing they were up against a huge obstacle. Juniors Lizzy Robinson and Kara Vogelzang played the defending state champs and John Paul’s No. 2 teams. The girls played very well, but in the end, fell short of a victory. Liberty split the girls singles matches, with sophomore Haylee Smith winning and freshman Brooke Stoermer playing well but falling short of a win.
Assistant tennis coach Chelsea Young said, “We are a young team with a lot of work to do. Our goal is to start playing more aggressively and being more comfortable at the net. We are going to surprise a lot of people this year during district matches and possibly at regional.”