Tennis: Van Buren, Greenwood go toe-to-toe

A pair of boys’ singles players coming off state tournament appearances last season squared off in an epic match Thursday. In a match which lasted more than two hours, Van Buren junior T.J. Saniseng outlasted Greenwood senior Woody Woodring in a three-set tiebreaker on the Pointers’ court. Saniseng won the first set 6-1, before Woodring came back with a 7-5 win to force the third set. Then, in the third set, Saniseng was able to prevail, 10-6. “That was a very good match,” Van Buren coach Brandy Mosby said. “Woodring did a really good job that second set. ... In the 7A-West, there’s a lot of good players and this is what T.J. is going to be up against all year. It’s going to be a nail-biter pretty much every match that he plays, but that’s what he likes. “That’s the thing about watching T.J. The more that he has competitive, he’s just all for it, and that’s just fun for him.” Saniseng had made the 7A State Tournament last season in doubles, and is in his first season of playing singles. Woodring, meanwhile, finished as the 6A runner-up, part of the Bulldogs’ 6A state championship squad which is in a rebuilding mode. “We lost four seniors that graduated, and I’ve got two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior trying to make up their place on the team because I’ve got two returning lettermen,” Greenwood coach Ken Hamilton said. “Both of them (Woodring and Kenny Sweeney) are all-state, which helps, but it’s a big loss to replace four out of your six and be competitive again. Of course, you would rather do that and be the defending state champion than not be the defending state champion.” Sweeney, the No. 2 singles player for the Bulldogs, won his match Thursday against Van Buren’s Len Huang, 6-3, 6-1. The Pointers’ No. 3 and No. 4 singles players, Abel Diaz and Conner Hoffman, won their respective matches. Diaz defeated Eli Butler 8-6, while Hoffman posted an 8-2 decision against Auston Shown. On the girls’ side, Greenwood’s top doubles team of Lindsay Gills and Abigail Woodring posted an 8-6 win against the team of Lexi Blasingame and Joana Maldonado. The Lady Bulldogs’ No. 2 doubles team of Olivia Gaston and Madie Pelt also won, 8-5, against Maldonado and Emily Saniseng. “My girls have been making a pretty strong showing (Thursday),” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a bunch of new girls, and after number four (in the singles rotation), we’ve got a lot of girls that haven’t played much and my boys, we’ve only got two lettermen from last year.” One of those returning lettermen is Gaston, who reached the 6A title match as a freshman last season. Van Buren’s No. 3 girls’ doubles team of Alyssa Kroth and Madisen Gaona won their match Thursday, 8-0. “Our girls, I think they’re improving every single time,” Mosby said. “I have 18 kids out this year, and 10 of them are new to our team. ... I have three seniors, and all three of them just played starting their 10th grade year, they didn’t start their freshman year.” As of press time, Greenwood and Van Buren were still playing singles and doubles sets Thursday evening. Van Buren will play in a tournament this weekend at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Greenwood also goes to ATU on Monday, where the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs will face Benton, Siloam Springs and Russellville.

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TENNIS: VAN BUREN, GREENWOOD GO TOE-TO-TOE

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 8/25/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D Sanderford