Cowgirls qualify seven for state - Central Oregonian

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Lon Austin

The Crook County Cowgirls were dominant as they earned their second consecutive Special District 5 tennis championship on Friday in Baker City.

“We did just fine,” said head coach Lloyd Rodgers. “We were real close to taking the whole team to state. The kids worked their hardest and competed hard just like we always do.”

The Cowgirls finished the weekend with a pair of district champions as well as qualifying all three of their doubles teams for the state championships.

Defending state champions Catie Brown and Kayla Morgan rolled through the district doubles championship. Morgan and Brown defeated teammates Annie Fraser and Leslie Teater in the semifinals, before knocking off Vale’s Amy Delong and Jessi Fife in the championship match.

Crook County No. 1 singles player, Elsa Harris, also dominated the tournament. Harris rolled through the singles tournament without losing a set en route to the championship.

“Harris just totally dominated and so did Morgan and Brown,” Rodgers said.

Meanwhile, the Cowgirls third doubles team of Ali Apperson and Lisa Pham lost to Delong and Fife in the second doubles semifinals match. Fraser and Teater then defeated Apperson and Pham in the third-and fourth-place match.

Also representing Crook County in the tournament were singles players Natasha Wiersch and Brook Buswell. Both singles players came close to earning trips to state as well.

Wiersch lost her quarterfinal match in three sets. Buswell came just as close to making it to state, falling in a tiebreaker in the third set of her quarterfinal match.

“They both went three sets and each had a tiebreaker in their match,” Rodgers said. “They just couldn’t quite do it.”

The defending state champion Cowgirls are looking to pick up another trophy at state this year.

Brown and Morgan are the only Crook County players to be seeded. However, with seven players in the tournament the team should still be able to do some damage.

“The more players you have the better chance you have of earning a trophy,” Rodgers said. “That’s our goal and if they all can just win at least that first round match we should be able to do that.”

The state championships will be held this Thursday through Saturday on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Apperson and Pham will open play for the Cowgirls on Thursday in a qualifying match against Karina Ortiz and Norma Chavez of Umatilla. The remainder of Crook County’s team does not begin play until Friday.