Sports

The Wills Point Tiger tennis team began its playoff run earlier, following up a regular season run that included the District 13-4A title with a 19-0 sweep of the Pittsburg Pirate tennis program in Lindale Oct. 16.

Individual results against Pittsburg included:

-Chase Daniell def. Grant McBee, 6-0, 6-0

-Kash Adams def. Jacobi Fletcher, 6-1, 6-2

-Jack Johns def. Maurico Burgess, 6-2, 6-0

-Josh Schreffler def. Draven Holms, 6-0, 6-0

-Jacob Sanford def. Daniel Nguyen, 6-3, 6-2

-Aidan Phillips def. Thomas Turner, 6-0, 6-0

-Austin Etheridge def. Caleb Fitch, 8-0

-Daniell/Phillips def. McBee/Fletcher, 6-2, 6-1

-Johns/Adams def. Burgess/Nguyen, 6-0, 6-0

-Schreffler/Etheridge def. Holmes/Fitch, 6-0, 6-0

-Maddie Booth def. Katelyn Holms, 6-0, 6-0

-Claire Hiler def. Deysy Ramirez, 6-0, 6-0

-Hope Turner def. Christina Calderon, 6-0, 6-0

-Hannah Gern def. Anita Chan, 6-0, 6-0

The Wills Point Lady Tigers continued to rise to the challenges of District 13-4A play over the past week, fending off rivals Canton and Van in five sets to extend their winning streak to four matches overall.

Wills Point pushed its winning streak to three matches in a row Oct. 13, topping Canton 16-25, 25-12, 25-15, 16-25, 15-12 in a seesaw affair.

Claire Hiler finished play against Canton with a team-leading 24 kills, followed by Melanie Sullivan with eight, Olivia McMath with six, Hope Turner with five, Jeslyn Martinez and Maddie Booth with two each and Kalyn Dryman with one.

Dryman topped all Lady Tiger players with five aces, McMath added three, and Sullivan and Turner added one each.

Wills Point totaled 90 digs as a team during the match, including 30 from Martinez, 14 each from Dryman and Turner and 11 from Booth.

Additionally, McMath and Turner each tied for the team lead with 23 assists.

Cross country teams from Brownsboro, Canton, Emory Rains, Mabank, Van and Wills Point traveled to Canton Oct. 12, competing at the District 13-4A Meet for a chance to extend their respective seasons by qualifying to run again at the Regional Meet in Grand Prairie Oct. 20. Wills Point finished first overall as a team in the varsity girls division with 26 points, ahead of Rains in second with 44 points and Van in third with 54 points.

Individual varsity girls results for Van Zandt County schools included:

-Canton: Madeline Null, third, 12:40; Darby Pruitt, fifth, 13:12

-Van: Macie Reynolds, second, 12:33; Isabel Romero, 11th, 14:01; Adriana Jimenez, 20th, 15:39; Grace Park, 23rd, 16:01; Gwen Mitchell, 25th, 17:08; and Mariana Romero, 26th, 17:13

-Wills Point: Hannah Sauceda, first, 12:28; Leslie Gonzalez, ninth, 13:50; Brisa Carillo, 10th, 13:53; Allison Wolfe, 12th, 14:13; Kaylee King, 14th, 14:23; and Jaylee Phillips, 27th, 17:53

The Wills Point Lady Tigers entered last week in desperate need of wins to keep their playoff chances alive, entering play against Brownsboro at the bottom of the District 13-4A standings after an 0-4 start to district play.

Down but not out, Wills Point responded by playing its best match of the district slate against Brownsboro Oct. 6, dominating all three sets en route to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-12 win over the Bearettes.

The Lady Tigers finished the match with 34 total kills as a team, nearly double the total of Brownsboro's combined output (18).

Claire Hiler led all players with 14 kills overall, followed by Olivia McMath with seven, Melanie Sullivan with four, Maddie Booth and Kalyn Dryman with three each, Hope Turner with two and Dawn Smith with one.

Hope Turner finished as Wills Point's top server with four aces overall, followed by Melanie Sullivan and Kalyn Dryman with two each, and Claire Hiler and Maddie Booth with one apiece.

The Wills Point Tigers continued to chart a familiar course throughout the first five weeks of the 2017 season, following the pattern they established in 2016 by bouncing back from four consecutive losses to open the season with a 34-22 win over Hillsboro Sept. 29.

Wills Point began play on offense, maintaining possession for just two plays before fumbling the ball back to Hillsboro at the Tiger 39-yard line. After surrendering a first down to the Eagles, Wills Point's defense stood tall to force a turnover on downs on the Tiger 21-yard line.

Wills Point quickly flipped the field position battle, getting a 37-yard run from Vernon Morrow on the first play of their second drive to reach Eagle territory. Three plays later, Tyler James would find Seth Wilson for a 21-yard touchdown completion and a 6-0 Tiger lead. The PAT would sail wide right, keeping the Tigers in front by six points with 4:34 left to play in the first quarter.

The Wills Point Tiger tennis team opened district play last week, continuing a weeks’ long trend of dominance with a 15-3 win over the rival Van Vandals.

Match results included:

-Chase Daniell def. Cody Pickett, 6-2, 6-0

-Kash Adams def. Hunter Perry, 6-1, 6-2

-Jack Johns def. Nick Pinkerton, 6-0, 6-2

-Austin Etheridge def. Tristen Reynolds, 6-1, 6-0

-Daniell/Phillips def. Pickett/Perry, 6-4, 6-2

-Adams/Johns def. Pinkerton/Everding, 6-0, 6-0

-Maddie Booth lost to Megan Nosworthy, 6-2, 4-6, 5-10

-Claire Hiler def. Abby Jones, 6-1, 6-2

-Hope Turner def. Shelby Jung, 6-3, 6-1

-Hannah Gern def. Faith Kirk, 1-6, 6-1, 10-4

-Maddie Hiler def. Madison Canfield, 7-5, 7-5

-Marissa LaJone def. Carli Davidson, 8-5

-Booth/Turner lost to Jones/Nosworthy, 4-6, 6-1, 9-11

-C. Hiler/Gern def. Kirk/Williams, 4-6, 6-0, 10-6

-M. Hiler/Lajone def. Davidson/Canfield, 4-6, 6-1, 10-8

The Wills Point Lady Tigers find themselves in an unenviable position with the first round of District 13-4A play nearly complete, falling in matches to both Van and Emory Rains over the past week to drop to 0-4 overall with six games left to play.

Wills Point hit the road Sept. 29, traveling to Van to take on the longtime rival Lady Vandals in a pivotal district showdown. The Lady Tigers could not maintain the momentum of a fast start in the match, moving to 0-3 with a four-set loss to Van.

Wills Point kept the Lady Vandals on their heels in the first set, outhitting and outdefending their Van counterparts to claim the first set 25-21.

The tide began to turn in the second as Van’s frontline duo of Macy Rucker and Skylar Savage began to assert themselves, allowing the Lady Vandals to take the second set 25-16.

The Wills Point Tigers find themselves in a familiar position entering the fifth week of the 2017 season, carrying an 0-4 record into play against Hillsboro after suffering a 30-24 home loss to Tatum Sept. 22.

Wills Point faced similar circumstances in 2016, bouncing back to win seven consecutive games en route to both a district and bi-district titles. Against the Eagles, Wills Point began play on a positive note by recovering the opening kickoff to take possession at the Tatum 26-yard line.

The Tigers failed to pick up a first down on four plays, turning the ball back over to the Eagles. Tatum needed just 10 plays to cover 77 yards, scoring the first points of the night on a Jachais Jenkins two-yard touchdown run. The Eagles would miss the PAT attempt, maintaining a 6-0 lead over the Tigers midway through the first quarter.

The Wills Point Tiger tennis team made it look easy over the course of the past week, going a staggering 67-2 combined in matches played against Greenville Sept. 21, and Melissa and Krum Sept. 23.

Wills Point set the tone for the week against Greenville, going a perfect 24-0 against the Lions. The Tiger tennis team returned to action in Rockwall Saturday, dominating Melissa 22-2 and Krum 21-0 to cap a stellar week.

Individual results for play against Melissa included:

-Chase Daniell def. Justin Mercer, 8-1

-Kash Adams def. Josh Lewis, 8-2

-Jack Johns def. Jake Fowler, 8-1

-Jacob Sanford lost to Dawson Mercer, 4-8

-Justin McGough def. Zach Butterfield, 8-6

-Austin Etheridge def. Tristan Clark, 7-6

-Jeremiah Brown lost to Bryan Williams, 5-7

-Daniell/Schreffler def. Mercer/Lewis, 6-3, 6-3

-Johns/Adams def. Ships/Fowler, 6-0, 6-0

-Etheridge/Sanford def. Butterfield/Williams, 6-3, 6-4

The Wills Point Lady Tigers will have some work to do if they plan on reaching the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, currently sitting at 0-2 overall in District 13-4A play after losses to Mabank Sept. 22 and Canton Sept. 26.

The Lady Tigers traveled to take on the Eaglettes, winning just one set in a four-set loss to Canton. The Eaglettes began play red-hot against Wills Point, storming out of the gate to take the first set 25-13.

Wills Point continued to struggle against the Eaglettes in the second set, getting outpointed 25-22 to fall into a two-sets-to-none deficit. The Lady Tigers bounced back in the third, re-establishing their footing by taking the set 25-23.

Canton closed play out in dominant fashion, taking the fourth set by eight points to wrap up the 25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17 win over the Lady Tigers.