Even though the Park Rapids boys tennis team had to move players up to the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles spots, head coach Barb Thomason expected the Panthers to serve up a competitive season.
Thanks to a 5-2 record in matches that were decided by one point, the Panthers fulfilled their coach's expectations by going 7-9 in dual meets, taking second at the Mid-State Conference tournament and advancing to the Section 8A semifinals.
"I thought we did better than I anticipated," said Thomason. "We had to move players up and those kids played well. We were able to win a lot of close matches."
After opening the season with a 5-2 loss to Bemidji and 6-1 loss to Grand Rapids, the Panthers posted 4-3 wins over East Grand Forks and Wadena-Deer Creek. Park Rapids also hosted an invitational tournament where no team scores were kept.
Following a 5-2 loss to Crookston, the Panthers defeated Perham 6-1 and Detroit Lakes 4-3, lost to Staples-Motley 6-1, and defeated Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4-3 and W-DC 5-2. A 4-3 loss to Detroit Lakes gave the Panthers a 4-2 record against Mid-State Conference opponents.
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The Panthers then took runner-up honors at the conference tournament with 25 points, two behind Staples-Motley's 27.
Park Rapids then closed out the regular season with a 7-0 loss to Crookston, a 4-3 loss to East Grand Forks and a 6-1 loss to Thief River Falls. Those losses dropped the Panthers to the No. 4 spot for the Section 8A tournament.
Thomason's team opened the section tournament with a 4-3 win over No. 5 Perham before falling to No. 1 Thief River Falls 6-1 in the section semifinals. Thief River Falls defeated No. 2 Crookston 4-3 for the section title and a trip to state.
"Losing the second time to Detroit Lakes and East Grand Forks cost us a winning record," said Thomason. "We could have gone 9-7 instead of 7-9, but overall I thought we had a good season."
Leading the Panthers this season were seniors Matt Koeller and Tyson Sievers; juniors Brady Pederson, Joe Penning and Ben Waller; sophomore Mark Smith; freshmen Jordan Anderson, Ryan Kent, Kirt Leadbet-ter and Ted Tiffany; eighth-grader Steve Smith; and seventh-grader Alex Renner.
That group combined for a 44-25 record in doubles and a 29-59 record in singles.
Mark Smith was named the team's Most Valuable Player after stepping up to play the No. 1 singles spot. Smith had a 1-15 record at that position, but was the conference runner-up at that spot and received the No. 4 seed in singles for the section tournament. Smith, who lost his section quarterfinal match, also went 2-1 at No. 2 singles and 2-0 in doubles during the season.
Sievers and Koeller had a stellar season at No. 3 doubles, going 12-5 and winning that position at the Park Rapids Invitational. That senior duo also took second at the conference meet. Sievers, who shared the team's Spirit Award, finished with a 15-5 overall record at doubles while Koeller went 13-5.
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Pederson and Leadbetter excelled at No. 2 doubles, going 11-3 at that position. That duo won the title at No. 2 doubles at both the Park Rapids Invitational and Mid-State Conference tournament. Pederson finished the season with a 14-7 overall record while Leadbetter went 12-7. Pederson played singles in the section meet, entering as the No. 8 seed and losing his first-round match. Pederson received the team's Hardest Worker award while Leadbetter was named the Panthers' Most Improved Player.
Penning and Waller took over the No. 1 doubles spot this season and compiled a 10-10 record at that position. That duo finished second at the Park Rapids Invitational and fourth at the conference meet. Penning and Waller entered the section meet as the No. 4 seed in doubles, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals in their first match. Penning, who won the Andy Roddick award for best serve, also went 0-3 in singles while Waller went 12-12 overall at No. 1 doubles.
Kent and Anderson alternated most of the season at No. 2 singles and No. 3 singles. Kent went 1-3 at No. 1 singles, 2-9 at No. 2 singles and 4-2 at No. 3 singles while going 1-1 at No. 2 doubles. Anderson had a 3-2 record at No. 2 singles and 7-4 record at No. 3 singles while going 3-2 at No. 2 doubles. Anderson received the team's Most Consistent Player award.
Kent claimed runner-up honors at No. 3 singles at the Park Rapids Invitational and runner-up honors at No. 2 singles at the conference meet while Anderson was second at No. 3 singles at the Mid-State tournament. Those two teamed up to play doubles in the section tournament, entering as the No. 8 seed and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Renner made his varsity debut by earning the starting spot at No. 4 singles. Renner, the team's Most Promising Player, went 8-10 at that position and 8-12 overall in singles. Renner won the title at No. 4 singles at the Park Rapids Invitational and finished fourth at that position at the conference tournament.
Also seeing some varsity action this season were Tiffany and Steve Smith. That duo went 2-0 at No. 3 doubles with Tiffany having a 2-1 overall record at No. 3 doubles and Smith also going 1-2 at No. 4 singles. Tiffany shared the team's Spirit Award.
Looking ahead to next season, the Panthers will return a veteran group with only the No. 3 doubles team of Sievers and Koeller needing to be replaced. That experience, along with the potential of several junior high and junior varsity players, has Thomason counting on another successful season in 2007.
"I look for us to continue to improve," said Thomason. "We'll have a lot of experience back and a nice, solid group of eighth- and ninth-graders looking to move into some spots. If the kids work on their games over the summer, I see us having another good year."
