CCHS finishes 1-3 at Bend Invite - Central Oregonian

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Lon Austin

Friday afternoon, the Crook County Cowgirls dropped a pair of matches, falling to the consolation bracket of the Bend Invitational Tennis Tournament.

The team rebounded to win their first match Saturday, before ending their tournament with a tough loss to Tualatin to finish the tournament with a 1-3 record.

“It was a great tournament,” said head coach Lloyd Rodgers. “Nothing outstanding happened, but it was good practice for the girls and we were competitive in all our matches.”

Although they struggled to win matches, the Crook County Cowgirls clearly demonstrated that they are one of the top Class 4A tennis programs in the state.

The Cowgirls dropped their first match 5-3 to Oregon Episcopal School, a perennial favorite to win the Class 4A/3A/2A/1A championship. The Cowgirls were competitive throughout the match despite No. 2 doubles player Lisa Pham spraining an ankle midway through her doubles match.

The two teams could still have easily split the match. However, defending state singles champion Rachel Nedrow earned a narrow victory over Elsa Harris in their No. 1 singles match, giving the Aardvarks the victory.

“Harris is right there with the top players in the state,” Rodgers said. “She can play with them, she just needs to take the next step and figure out that she can win.”

In the consolation bracket, the Cowgirls fell 5-3 to the  Class 6A Redmond Panthers.

Crook County’s No. 3 doubles team of Annie Fraser and Leslie Teater went undefeated during Friday play.

Saturday morning, the team rebounded to easily defeat Class 5A Lebanon 6-2, before ending the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Class 6A Tualatin.

With Pham injured, the Cowgirls juggled their lineup for the remainder of the tournament.

Fraser teamed up with Ali Apperson at No. 2 doubles and the duo delivered, winning both of their Saturday matches.

Although Fraser and Apperson played well together, Pham’s injury impacted the outcome of the tournament.

The Cowgirls were forced to forfeit a doubles match against both Lebanon and Tualatin.

In spite of the forfeits, Rodgers was pleased with the performance of his doubles squads.

“Our doubles teams played great the entire tournament,” Rodgers said.The team’s No. 1 doubles squad of Catie Brown and Kayla Morgan went undefeated throughout the tournament.

Fraser and Teater were also undefeated in the matches they played together as were Apperson and Fraser.

“The tournament was a good format for us,” Rodgers said. “There were some great teams there and it was a great practice format for the girls.”

Crook County has a pair of tough road matches ahead this week.

The Cowgirls travel to Bend on Wednesday to take on the Mountain View Cougars. Then travel to Redmond on Thursday for a rematch with the Panthers. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.