Shorthanded Wildcats come up short in close matches, fall to Broncos

Blue Springs' Tyler Casey hits a forehand during his singles match against Lee's Summit North's Rob Durbin Monday.
Durbin won in three sets. 

Sometimes just one player being out of a game or match can throw things just enough out of whack that it can make a difference.

That may have been the case at least somewhat for the Blue Springs boys tennis team Monday, and while the final score may not have indicated a close match, the Wildcats – without No. 2 singles player Max Martell – lost a handful of close matches to Lee’s Summit North and eventually lost 8-1.

“Max Martell got sick so we had to pull him out and move everybody up one spot, which is huge,” Wildcats head coach Jody McClain said. “Not only is it such a big jump for those guys below him, but they didn’t like being on a different court since we were at home. That discouraged me from the beginning.

“Things might have been different if everyone was healthy, but it is what it is.”

Blue Springs' Chad Stohlman hits a backhand during his singles match
Monday against Lee's Summit North. The Broncos won 8-1.

The Broncos swept all six singles matches, three of which went to a third set.

“You would think (we would win at least one),” McClain said. “You would hope. Sometimes that happens. You have to be able to win that third set. I don’t think I ever play Lee’s Summit North without going three sets on several courts.”

No. 1 Tyler Casey, No. 3 Chad Stohlman and No. 4 Ashton Rhodes all went to a third set in singles, but none could win the big points to possibly pick up a much-needed win.

McClain said she wanted her singles players to be more aggressive.

“They stay back a lot, even in singles,” she said. “They don’t like to come to the net. Lee’s Summit North came to the net a little more than we did and were very consistent. It’s all about one more ball over the net. Something I drill into my guys all the time – and they want to end the point with a big hit – but we need to work on being a little more aggressive.”

Casey put the advice into action in the third set against Rob Durbin, frequently approaching the net with mixed results. What seemed to hurt Casey the most were his own errors.

“He knew that his guy pushed the ball a lot and you aren’t going to win on the baseline. He knew he had to win it at the net,” McClain said. “That’s what got him to where he was. When we get to a tiebreaker, that’s when we really need to take care of the ball. Tyler double faulted twice. You can’t do that in a tiebreak. That’s when your tennis has to be more consistent than ever.”

The Wildcats finally picked up a win in doubles when Stohlman and Rhodes came back from losing the first set 0-6 to win the final two sets 6-4, 10-4 in the super tiebreaker.

Blue Springs No. 3 singles player Ashton Rhodes hits a forehand in his
match Monday.

“They just started to come to the net more. I think they get it. I was really proud of them,” McClain said.

The loss hurts the Wildcats chances of contending for a conference championship, putting them at 2-1 in conference play, but doesn’t put them completely out of the running by any means, as they still have Liberty and Blue Springs South on the schedule.

“They won’t be easy, but I know we have the ability if we utilize our talents,” McClain said. “We have to calm down in our head. Their mental game kills them more than anything. They have to keep their head in the game and in the point. We have too many unforced errors. Those turn into games.

“We’ve got guys who stepped up from Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to Nos. 1, 2 and 3. They’re still filling big shoes. It’s tough to teach them to play to win but not to lose. They’re getting it.”

Blue Springs travels to Barstow Wednesday.