South tennis can't slow down Rockhurst

The final score may not have suggested it but there were some positives, and more importantly, plenty of lessons to learn and things to take away from a 9-0 loss to Rockhurst for the Blue Springs South boys tennis team Monday afternoon.

Blue Springs South's Chris Hammond hits
a forehand during Monday's match
against Rockhurst.

“The scores weren’t real fantastic but there were definitely a lot of positives,” South No. 1 Chris Hammond said. “We’re not in midseason form but we’re striking the ball well.”

Even if the Jaguars had been in midseason form, taking on the Hawklets was going to be a tall task, especially in the first match of the season.

As expected, head coach Sheri Rehmer saw plenty of ups and downs.

“We know they’re a high-caliber team,” Rehmer said of Rockhurst. “I wanted to see some good points. I wanted to see how well we’d manage the game and at times we did well, and at times we looked a little intimidated.”

This match may end up being one of the few times this season the Jaguars will struggle to win games.

With that being the case, South’s mental toughness was tested throughout the match.

“You have to try and think about what you can control, not what you can’t control,” Hammond said. “Tennis is about hitting great shots under pressure. The mental side makes the difference. They’re just mentally tougher in matches than we are.

“We all will improve and we’ll be in these situations again.”

Rehmer pointed to sophomore Paul Province’s match – South’s No. 2 who she said has “made a big jump this year” – in which he was leading 4-1 in the first set before he began to struggle, eventually losing in two sets.

                                                                                                       

Blue Springs South's Paul Province hits a forehand during
Monday's match against Rockhurst.

“Especially when they get down, they have to have faith in their strokes,” Rehmer said. “Paul lost a few games and lost a little confidence. It snowballed and he got unsure.”

But as Rehmer and Hammond both pointed out, not everything was negative.

Along with Province starting well in singles, Hammond and John Duffy led a solid showing in doubles. Any positive shots, games or sets were something to build off of.

Blue Springs South's John Duffy waits for the ball during
his doubles match with partner Chris Hammond against
Rockhurst Monday. 

“We got a few games here and there in doubles. The kids didn’t back down,” Rehmer said. “You want to remember the point you had. Duffy had two aces against the No. 6 kid in the state. You can draw from those instances.”

South hopes to do just that as they chase conference and district titles again this season.

And with everyone back with an extra year of experience, Hammond is hopeful for good things.

“With a lot of the guys we’re hitting at a higher level than we were at this point last year,” he said. “Our mentality is that we know we can do it. We’re more mature than we were last year.

“We’re looking to defense those titles. That’s a big goal for everybody."