Colonels, Wildcats end season in region tourney
by Staff Report
Apr 14, 2011 | 457 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Cass and Woodland high schools were outmanned in the Region 7-AAAA boys and girls tennis playoffs Wednesday, as the county's three qualifying teams fell 3-0.

Cass head coach Chris Allen said the losses were to very good teams.

"It was not anything that we didn't expect," Allen said. "We knew how strong they were."

Woodland head coach Kevin Tant said the Wildcats had a good season in its sub-region but found the sledding very tough at the regionals.

Cass and Woodland, both in 7A-AAAA, had encountered a lot of turbulence when they butted heads with 7B-AAAA members during the regular season.

"There's definitely an imbalance in some of the sports in our region," Allen said. "In a couple of years it will change. [There's] no crying over spilt milk."

He said the Cass teams will take away the positives they accomplished this year and try to improve their seasons next year.

"We have a lot of things to be proud of," Allen said. "Our girls were in the region for the fourth year and our boys played in it for the first time in three years. There's never anything wrong with that."

He said the quality of tennis play in Region 7-AAAA is strong. "The season didn't end quite end the way we wanted, but we met all our preseason goals. Our boys were 5-11 last year and 9-6 this year. Our girls lost four starters (from last year) but we were still in the middle in our sub-region play."

He said the teams will have a new measuring stick for success next season though. "We know we not only have to play well against the teams in our sub-region, but we need to be better than the third and fourth teams on that side, too, to advance to state, which is always our goal."

Coach Tant said the Woodland boys compiled a good record in the sub-region, earning a No. 2 seed.

"This is the best record we've carried, at 9-4," he said. "That's the best record and the highest seed we've had in the sub-region.

"But the teams on the other side of our region are so well practiced. The top three schools have state-ranked players."

He said the Wildcats gave their best out on the court, noting Woodland lost 3-0 to Chattahoochee in singles matches.

"I'm extremely proud of them for what they've accomplished, and I'm very understanding of just how difficult the challenge was," he said.