Wildcats Split With Blue Raiders

The regular season is winding down, but that does not necessarily mean the competition is any easier.  Our Boys lost for only the third time this season against a very talented group from Cleveland.  The Girls, on the other hand, got their first non-district win of the year against the Blue Raiders!

Michelle Phillips played a near flawless match to win at #1 singles, to get the Wildcats off to a terrific start.  We ended up with four wins coming out of singles and all we needed was one win in doubles-- we got two.  Michelle and Haylee Gossett dominated in the #1 doubles spot, and Maggie Ozborn and Caylee Schannuth (pictured above) did the same in the #3 doubles position.

As for the Boys, I knew we would have a fight on our hands.  What I did not anticipate, was that we would roll over and play dead once we got to doubles.  Doubles has always been the hallmark of the Hixson Tennis Program since I took over in 2009.  This year for the Boys, it has been our downfall.  In the three losses the Boys' team has endured this season (Signal Mountain, Notre Dame and now Cleveland) it has been our doubles play which made the difference.  Had we taken care of business in doubles in all three of those losses, our Boys would be sitting at 12-0 this year.  I honestly cannot tell you why I have not been able to teach this team how to play doubles.  I am at a loss.  We work on doubles as much or more than any Hixson team has in the past, but our execution has been mediocre at best.  I blame myself, and I will try to find the solution this week.  I'd better, because time is running out.

Here are the full results:

Cleveland Boys Def. Hixson Boys 6-3

Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Jake Gibson 8-2

Brandon Williams (C) def. Richard Vuong 9-8 (7-5)

Carl Phillips (H) def. Shivang Patel 8-4

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Kevin Harucharrah 8-4

Adam Klibisz (C) def. Rivers De'Friese 8-2

Vereen Patel (C) def. Angel Salinas 8-2

Doubles:

Gibson/S. Patel (C) def. Condra/Vuong 8-6

Williams/Harucharrah (C) def. Phillips/Nguyen 9-7

Klibisz/V. Patel (C) def. De'Friese/Landon Goforth 8-3

Hixson Boys' Record: 9-3 (Overall); 6-0 (District 6-A/AA Champion)

Hixson Girls Def. Cleveland Girls 6-3

Singles:

Michelle Phillips (H) def. Katherine Cantrell 8-1

Maddie Ohlsson (C) def. Haylee Gossett 8-0

Emily Davis (H) def. Heidi Barringer 9-8 (7-2)

Caylee Schannuth (H) def. Sammi Kate Eason 8-3

Merideth Wheeler (C) def. Maggie Ozborn 9-7

Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Angie Giraldo 8-2

Doubles:

Phillips/Gossett (H) def. Cantrell/Ohlsson 8-4

Barringer/Eason (C) def. Davis/Cor. Schannuth 9-7

Cay. Schannuth/Ozborn (H) def. Wheeler/Giraldo 8-1

Hixson Girls' Record: 7-5 (Overall); 6-0 (District 6-A/AA Champion)

UP NEXT: Thursday, April 24 Vs. East Hamilton @ Home.  Formerly an arch-District rival, the Hurricanes are coming back to the Racquet Club, having recently graduated to the Triple-A classification.  I have not paid much attention to how EH is doing in their new district, but I would imagine they are still very tough on the Girls' side and less so on the Boys'.  I will stress the fact that we cannot underestimate them.