Lady ‘Dog tennis falls in backed-up Class 2 Sectionals

JEFFERSON CITY – Finally getting in its Missouri Class 2 Team Sectionals after being rained out on Saturday, the Rolla High School girls’ tennis team saw its season end with a 5-4 dual-meet defeat to Ozark Conference rival Springfield Glendale Monday, Oct. 15, at the indoor facility at the YMCA in Jefferson City.

The event had been scheduled to be held in Columbia on Saturday, Oct. 13 but was backed up and moved due to rainy conditions.

Rolla started slow and built speed taking two of three doubles matches, including one match from a state qualifier. But it wasn’t enough as the Glendale Falcons got the close-call win.

"This was one of the best high school tennis duals I've ever seen," said RHS coach Joe Schisler. "Both teams played with great integrity and pride despite the physical difficulty brought about by the long rain out on Saturday (10 hours with no matches started) and the unusual turf surface the match was played on.

"Glendale did a better job starting fast and being consistent on the turf. It definitely favored the hard hitters over the patient point builders. I knew going into the match that it would be a dogfight. We won matches at the first and fifth spot only in singles. I would have felt very comfortable if we had been able to eek out one more match in singles. It is almost impossible to sweep doubles in high school tennis sectionals. Our girls battled and almost pulled it off, but Glendale was just a little too deep." Also on Monday Glendale went on to lose to Columbia Rock Bridge in Class 2 Quarterfinal action.

Rolla’s No. 1 singles player, senior Dagmar Velez, will compete in the Missouri Class 2 Individual State Tournament this week.

Here are Monday’s results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Liz Saltznab, 6-4, 6-4 Mary Adams lost to Chelsea Dunn, 1-6, 1-6 Ashley Cox lost to Madeline Dunn, 0-6, 3-6 Selin Acar lost to Haylee Sheer, 2-6, 1-6 Whitney Snyders beat Megan Cox, 6-1, 6-1 Lara Applegate lost to Michaela Mullen, 4-6, 3-6

Velez/ Snyders beat Saltzman/Mullen, 6-3, 6-0 Cox/Acar beat Dunn/Dunn, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Adams/Graham lost to Sheer/Cox, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

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Weekend Feature: More uncharted water for RHS girls’ tennis team

It’s been quite a two-year run for the Rolla High School girls’ tennis team.

Actually, it’s been uncharted water for the program.

For the second consecutive season Rolla will be represented in both the Missouri Class 2 team and individual state tournaments.

On Saturday, Oct. 12 Rolla travels to Bethel Park in Columbia for Class 2 Team Sectional action against Ozark Conference rival Springfield Glendale. Rolla advanced to sectionals by clipping Columbia Hickman 5-4 on Tuesday, Oct. 9 in Class 4 Regional play at Cosmo Park in Columbia.

Rolla enters Saturday’s action 11-0 in dual-meet play this season. Overall the Lady Bulldogs have won 32 straight regular-season dual meets.

The Rolla-Glendale winner will advance to quarterfinal action on Saturday against the winner of the Springfield Kickapoo-Columbia Rock Bridge sectional winner, also at Bethel Park. Glendale, the Ozark Conference champion, enters with a 15-2 dual-meet record.

Last year Rolla knocked off Kickapoo 5-2 in the sectionals before falling to Rock Bridge in the quarterfinals.

And a week later, on the weekend of Oct. 19-20, Rolla’s No. 1 singles player, senior Dagmar Velez, will compete in the 2007 Missouri Class 2 Individual State Tournament. Velez advanced to the individual tourney by finishing second overall in the district tournament.

Velez will be the second straight individual player Rolla has sent to the state tourney. Last year foreign exchange student Vici Wever won the district singles title to advance to state where, despite an ankle injury, she advanced to the state quarterfinals. Wever finished the 2006 season with a 31-2 overall record.

The team advancement to state tournament play is of particular value says RHS tennis coach Joe Schisler, as it shows how strong a program truly is. As an example, Velez has been the team’s No. 1 singles player all fall. However, she doesn’t have the team’s best record...that belongs to senior Selin Acar, who is playing at No. 4 singles. Entering Saturday Acar has yet to lose a singles match.

"I’m thrilled," Schisler said of Rolla’s season to date. "We’ve had very good tennis here. You almost hate to have an exchange student because when you have one, sometimes you have people exaggerate their importance. Last year the players we have now were buried under seven seniors

"Everyone in the state has someone at No. 1 (singles) who can just flat-out play. But only the best programs have those kids who are good players down to the five, six, seven and eight slots."

For Saturday’s team action the Bulldogs will send Velez as No. 1, senor Mary Adams at No. 2, junior Ashley Cox at No. 3, Acar at No. 4, junior Whitney Snyders at No. 5 and junior Lara Applegate at No. 6.

As far as the Lady Bulldogs’ doubles combination, Schisler has constantly switched his teams and combos up all season. He says he may not know who plays where in doubles until Saturday morning.

"We haven’t decided yet (on doubles)," Schisler said. "There will be at least one team that will be different than what we had at regionals.

"This is the result of our depth. If we win in the first round we’ve got to play in the quarterfinals that same day. If your deep enough you can use that to have fresh players."

It was that depth which allowed the Lady Bulldogs to advance in regionals, as Rolla’s top two singles players lost.

In its regional dual meet over Hickman it was Cox over Caitlin Hollandsworth 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2 in No. 3 singles, Acar over Connie Cho 6-0, 5-7, 7-6 (7-1) in No. 4 singles, Snyders over Gina Pai 6-0, 6-4 in No. 5 singles and Applegate over Jasmine Cuffey 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 singles and in doubles Acar-Cox beat Hollandsworth-Cuffy 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the Lady Bulldog regional title.

Schisler knows Rolla will have its hands full in regionals with Glendale, which was runner-up to Kickapoo in the Ozark Conference Meet this season.

"We kind of know what’s coming," Schisler said. "The difference between this year and last year is (Rolla and Glendale) have kind of reversed roles. Our No. 1 has had a great deal of success this year and their team has been more successful because of their depth."

Of a possible quarterfinal showdown, Schisler said, "Rock Bridge is not as strong as usual. But they have three repeat (individual) state qualifiers in their top four...that’s not bad. I would think they would be the favorite over Kickapoo."

To get both team and individual state tournament berths has been very exciting for Velez, who has been the Lady Bulldogs’ best and most consistent player over a four-year period. Velez was playing No. 1 singles for the Lady Bulldogs as a freshman. She moved down to No. 2 with the addition of Wever last season. Obviously she has been very comfortable back at No. 1 this fall.

"Last year we had an amazing team," Velez said. "Then we graduated four of our top six this year and really didn’t know what to expect. This year has been tough for us, but we came through. No matter how coach split the doubles up we still had a good team."

Being part of a team state qualifier is special. Making it as an individual...that’s at least equally special for Velez.

"I will be there for my team," she said. "They’ve worked hard and I’ve worked hard. I’m excited to go to both."

As far as the individual state tourney, Velez said, "I worked so hard for it; it feels so good to be there."

Velez is accustomed to big matches. She has been the No. 1 or No. 2 seeded player in every tournament he has played in this season. She was seeded No. 1 at the district meet and No. 2 at the conference meet. Velez is still stinging from her upset loss to Hickman’s Dina Kaissi in the district finals. "That was really hard for me," she said. "She was a good player, but I don’t think I played my best game."

"She played No. 1 for us the first five matches of her freshman year...with some success," Schisler said of Velez. "We only moved her down because she needed more match experience to be successful there.

"She’s the kind of player every coach says, ‘She graduates this year finally, right?’ Last year Velez lost just four matches – and two of them were to our own No. 1 (Wever) in finals of tournaments."

Pairings won’t be made for the individual state tourney until probably mid-week next week, so Velez isn’t sure what to expect as far as possible opponents.

"I haven’t been there before, so I don’t know," Velez said. "If I get a top-4 finish...anywhere around there...I would be ecstatic."

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RHS girl netters headed back to Class 2 Sectionals

COLUMBIA – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis’ dual-meet winning touch advanced the Lady Bulldogs to the Missouri Class 2 Sectionals.

Rolla held off Columbia Hickman 5-4 on Tuesday, Oct. 9 in Class 2 Regional play at Cosmo Park.

Rolla, now 9-0 in dual meets and winners of 31 straight regular-season dual meets, advance to Class 2 Sectional action for the second straight season.

The Lady Bulldogs will meet Ozark Conference rival Springfield Glendale Saturday in the sectional dual meet at Bethel Park in Columbia.

Also on Saturday will be the Class 2 Quarterfinals. The Rolla-Glendale winner will meet the Springfield Kickapoo-Columbia Rock Bridge survivor in the quarterfinals.

Kickapoo, 15-2 in dual meets this fall, won the Ozark Conference championship this season while Glendale placed second and Rolla fifth.

Last year Rolla defeated Hickman in regional play and then got past Kickapoo 5-2 in sectionals before falling to Rock Bridge in quarterfinal action.

On Tuesday Rolla dropped the top two singles spots but won five of the other seven matches, including two of the three doubles contests which decided the meet winner.

Also on Tuesday in Columbia Rock Bridge shut out Waynesville 5-0 in regional play.

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RHS girls’ tennis 3^rd in district; in regional action

CAMDENTON – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team advanced to regional action by placing third in the Missouri Class 2 District 5 Tournament Saturday, Oct. 6.

The top four teams from the district meet advance to Class 2 Regional action.

Columbia Rock Bridge won its ninth consecutive district title handily with 37.5 points while Columbia Hickman placed second with 17.5 points, Rolla third and Waynesville fourth.

On Tuesday, Oct. 9 in regional dual meet action Rolla is to play Hickman at Cosmo Park in Columbia while Rock Bridge takes on Waynesville at Bethel Park in Columbia.

The winners of those regional meets advance to Saturday’s sectional and quarterfinal duals.

Rolla senior Dagmar Velez, the No. 1 seed, lost to second-seeded Dina Kaissi of Hickman 6-1, 6-4 in the district singles title match.

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Short-handed RHS netters win

SPRINGFIELD – Despite playing short-handed, the Rolla High School girls’ tennis team defeated Springfield Parkview 7-2 in a dual meet Monday, Oct. 1.

RHS had three varsity regulars and two junior varsity players out of the lineup.

Rolla junior varsity winners included Ashley Hilmas, Angelica Mata, Mydah Choudhry, Haylee Hamilton and Liz Janke.

Here are the varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Velez beat Funk, 8-3.

Cox lost to Pfeiffer, 8-2.

Snders lost to Christenson, 8-3.

Applegate beat Cody, 8-5.

Ahmed beat Kreryakova, 8-5.

Krishnamurthy beat Robertson, 8-1.

Velez-Snyders beat Funk-Pfeiffer, 8-6.

Cox-Applegate beat Christenson-Cody, 8-4.

Ahmed-Kristnamurthy beat Kreryakova-Robertson, 8-5.

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Lady Bulldog netters fifth in league meet

SPRINGFIELD – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team finished fifth in the Ozark Conference Tournament on Thursday, Sept. 27 – just one point out of a three-way tie for third.

Springfield Kickapoo won the league title with 37 points followed by Springfield Glendale with 36, Waynesville and Joplin with 26 each, Rolla 25, Lebanon 20, Camdenton 18, Springfield Parkview 15, West Plains 11 and Springfield Hillcrest 6.

Dagmar Velez and Mary Adams each played third in their respective singles flights.

"Dagmar and Mary continue to lead us," said RHS coach Joe Schisler. "Dagmar had a tough outing but finished third in the most difficult flight. Mary was seeded third and finished third. This was her first big tournament, so for her to be a medalist was outstanding.

"I was very proud of our doubles teams. We played through a very tough field once again and remained competitive. We were without a key doubles player from one of our doubles entries and Selin Acar played despite being ill. For our doubles teams to finish in fifth and sixth place despite playing two teams who had little experience together speaks well of their efforts."

Carlee Rozell of Kickapoo was the No. 1 singles champion. And Waynesville’s Tina Scharpman-Lauren Kelly won the No. 1 doubles flight.

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29 and counting for RHS girl netters

WAYNESVILLE – Twenty-nine and counting.

The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team ran its regular-season dual-meet winning streak to 29 on Monday, Sept. 24, as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Ozark Conference rival Waynesville 6-2.

The final doubles match was not completed due to darkness.

The Lady Bulldogs have not lost a regular-season dual meet since the fifth meet of the 2005 season. Rolla improves to 7-0 in dual meets this fall.

On Monday RHS winners included Dagmar Velez, Ashley Cox, Selin Acar, Whitney Snyders and Lara Applegate in singles play and the doubles team of Velez-Georgia Graham.

"This was a hard-fought win," said RHS coach Joe Schisler. "Things were really touch-and-go for a while as singles play concluded. Whitney Snyders and Lara Applegate both closed out difficult matches. Those points were really the difference in the match.

"The top four in our lineup continue to pile up points in singles and doubles, but those lower singles players are really coming into their own. We need to continue to build and play with confidence regardless of who our opponent is. If we do that it will be an interesting final few weeks of the season."

Rolla also won the junior varsity contest 6-3. Rolla jayvee winners included Fatimah Ahmed, Angelica Mata, Dakota Wilson, Katheryn McCaulla, Sana Khan and Mydah Chowdhry.

The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at West Plains. The Ozark Conference Tournament is slated for Thursday, Sept. 27 in Springfield.

Here are Monday’s varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Tina Scharpman, 8-4.

Mary Adams lost to Lauren Kelly, 8-2.

Ashley Cox beat Caroline Mikaloff, 8-3.

Selin Acar beat Jillian Crabtree, 8-3.

Whitney Snyders beat Sarah Klein, 8-6.

Lara Applegate beat Amy Osborn, 9-7.

Cox-Acar lost to Kelly-Scharpman, 8-1.

Velez-Georgia Graham beat Mikaloff-Stephanie Konvalin, 8-2.

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RHS netters stay perfect in dual meets

ROLLA – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team improved its dual-meet record to 6-0 by clipping Jefferson City Helias 5-4 on Thursday, Sept. 20 at Ber Juan Park.

Lara Applegate came from behind to win in the No. 6 singles spot and the Lady Bulldogs pulled out a pair of 8-6 victories in doubles competition to hold off a strong Helias squad.

RHS winners included Dagmar Velez, Selin Acar and Applegate in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Acar and Ashley Cox-Applegate.

Dating back to 2005 RHS has won more than 20 dual meets.

"This is a quality win," said RHS coach Joe Schisler. "Our girls were fairly worn out due to our recent schedule and Helias is very strong this year. All of our girls showed composure and fortitude in their matches. Even in spots where we lost we made them earn the wins."

Rolla won the junior varsity meet, which was shortened due to darkness.

As reported earlier, Rolla placed second in the Springfield Invitational on Sept. 18, a meet which included players from more than 60 schools and had 30 full teams.

Springfield Glendale won with 24 points while Rolla had 22 points to clip third-place Springfield Kickapoo, which had 20.5.

Velez, the No. 5 seeded singles player, ended up placing second. Velez lost to Carlee Rozell 8-4 in the singles championship match.

In varsity doubles play Cox-Acar there the No. 5 seed as well and advanced to the quarterfinals. Cox-Acar lost to the No. 2 seeded team from Bolivar.

On Monday RHS defeated Willow Springs in a dual meet 8-1. RHS winners were Velez, Adams, Acar, Snyders, Applegate and Georgia Graham in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Adams and Synders-Krishnamurthy. Rolla junior varsity winners included Angelica Mata, Kateryn McCulla and Fatimah Ahmed.

The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled play Ozark Conference rival Waynesville Monday, Sept. 24 in a dual meet at Waynesville, starting at 4 p.m.

Here are the varsity results from Thursday, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Paige Kolb, 8-2.

Mary Adams lost to Kristaq Crider, 8-3.

Ashley Cox lost to Victoria Wilson, 8-4.

Selin Acar beat Courtney Rauch, 8-2.

Whitney Snyders lost to Maggie Crider, 8-4.

Lara Applegate beat Annie Ahlvers, 8-5.

Velez-Acar beat Crider-Rauch, 8-6.

Adams-Snyders lost to Kolb-Wilson, 8-4.

Cox-Applegate beat Ahlvers-Maddi Gibbs, 8-6.

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Velez 2^nd in Springfield Invitational

SPRINGFIELD – Powered by the play of Dagmar Velez in singles competition, the Rolla High School girls’ tennis team placed second overall in the 30-team Springfield Invitational, held Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the Cooper Sports Complex.

Springfield Glendale won the team title with 29 points followed by Rolla with 22 points and Forsyth third with 21.5.

Velez, Rolla’s No. 1 player, advanced to the singles championship match, where she lost to No. 1 seeded Carlee Rozell of Springfield Kickapoo 8-4.

More Rolla results from the tourney when it becomes available.

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RHS netters roll past Lebanon

ROLLA – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team continued to roll on Thursday, Sept. 13, stopping Lebanon 4-2 in dual-meet action at Ber Juan Park.

RHS winners included Dagmar Velez, Mary Adams, Selin Acar, Lara Applegate and Georgia Graham in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Acar and Adams-Whitney Snyders.

Rolla junior varsity winners included Fatimah Ahmed, Angelica Mata, Dakota Wilson, Katheryn McCaulla and Ashley Hilmas.

The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to host the Rolla Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15 at Ber Juan Park, starting at 9 a.m.

Here are Thursday’s varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Kelsey Hutton, 8-1.

Mary Adams beat Nicky Hicks, 8-0.

Selin Acar beat Gwen Kwony, 8-0.

Whitney Snyders lost to Courtney Scavell, 8-3.

Lara Applegate beat Jami Garner, 8-5.

Georgia Graham beat Sharon Schafer 9-8 (7-2).

Velez-Acar beat Hutton-Kwony, 8-1.

Adams-Snyders beat Hicks-Scavell, 8-1.

Graham-Angelica Mata lost to Garner-Schafer, 8-2.

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RHS netters shut out Camdenton

ROLLA – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team improved to 3-0 in dual-meet action by shutting out Camdenton 9-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Ber Juan Park.

Rolla winners included Dagmar Velez, Mary Adams, Ashley Cox, Selin Acar, Whitney Snyers and Laura Applegate in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Yamini Krishnamurthy, Adams-Snyders and Cox-Acar.

Rolla junior varsity winners included Georgia Graham, Fatimah Ahmed, Angelica Mata, Dakota Wilson, Katheryn McCaulla, Sana Khan, Shaila Villeme, Mudah Chowdhry, Liz Janke, Lauren Stevens, Hailey Hamilton, Ashley Hilmas and Hayley Skyles.

The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to host Lebanon in another dual meet on Thursday, Sept. 13.

Here are Tuesday’s varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Katie Burkhardt, 8-1.

Mary Adams beat Lacey Hickman, 8-0.

Ashley Cox beat Adrianne Jones, 9-7.

Selin Acar beat Sandra Shore, 8-0.

Whitney Snyders beat Jessica Brown, 8-1.

Laura Applegate beate Jordan Lintt, 8-3.

Velez-Yamini Krishnamurthy beat Hickman-Jones, 8-1.

Adams-Snyders beat Burkhardt-Shore, 8-6.

Cox-Acar beat Brown-Hymes, 8-1.

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Lady Bulldog netters shut out Fulton

ROLLA – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team improved to 2-0 in dual-meet action by shutting out Fulton 9-0 Tuesday, Sept. 4 at the Ber Juan Park tennis courts.

Lady Bulldog winners included Dagmar Velez, Mary Adams, Ashley Cox, Selin Acar, Whitney Snyders and Laura Applegate in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Snyders, Adams-Cox and Acar-Yamini Krishnamurthy.

RHS also won the junior varsity meet 7-2 to improve to 2-0 in dual-meet action.

Lady Bulldog jayvee winners included Georgia Graham, Fatimah Ahmed, Angelica Mata, Katheryn McCaula and Sana Khan in singles play and the doubles teams of Shaila Villeme-Liz Janke and Mydah Cowdhry-Lauren Stevens.

Rolla is scheduled to play again Thursday, Sept. 6 at Richland.

Here are Tuesday’s varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Abby Craighead, 8-4.

Mary Adams beat Millie Oursburn, 8-1.

Ashley Cox beat Jodi Lee, 8-4.

Selin Acar beat Kristen Fisher, 8-2.

Whitney Snyders beat Jordan Murray, 8-1.

Lara Applegate beat Jenna Holt, 8-1.

Velez-Snyders beat Craighead-Oursburn, 8-0.

Adams-Cox beat Lee-Fisher, 8-0.

Acar-Yamini Krishnamurthy beat Murray-Holt, 8-1.

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Lady Bulldog tennis wins opener, 8-1

LEBANON – The Rolla High School girls’ tennis team opened the 2007 season with a 8-1 dual-meet victory over Lebanon on Tuesday, Aug. 28.

RHS winners included senior Dagmar Velez, junior Ashley Cox, junior Whitney Snyders, senior Selin Acar and junior Georgia Graham in singles play and the doubles teams of Velez-Snyders, senior Mary Adams-Cox and Acar-Yamini Krishnamurthy.

The Lady Bulldog junior varsity team also won 8-1.

Here are the varsity results, with the RHS players listed first:

Dagmar Velez beat Kelsey Hutton, 8-0.

Mary Adams lost to Nicky Hicks, 8-3.

Ashley Cox beat Caren Kueny, 8-1.

Whitney Snyders beat Courtney Scovell, 8-2.

Selin Acar beat Jami Cramer, 8-4.

Georgia Graham beat Sharon Schafer, 8-6.

Velez-Snyders beat Hutton-Kueny, 8-1.

Adams-Cox beat Hicks-Scovel, 8-3.

Acar-Yamini Krishnamurthy beat Cramer-Schafer, 8-4.

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