SPRINGDALE -- The Rogers tandem of Jenna Bohnert and Grace Lueders admitted to feeling a few nerves prior to their Class 6A state quarterfinal match Mondy afternoon at the Wildcat Tennis Center on the campus of Springdale Har-Ber.
But it was hard to tell. They took only 45 minutes to crush Fayetteville's Caroline Stewart and Avery Weilert 6-0, 6-0 to remain undefeated and advance to today's girls' doubles semifinals.
The sophomore duo will take on Jessica Hood and Ananya Vangoor of Bentonville West in a rematch of the 6A-West Conference semifinals two weeks ago, which the Rogers team won 6-1, 6-0.
"Always when they call you, it's like butterflies in your stomach," said Lueders, who didn't play for the high school team a year ago. "But after that ..."
"... just play," Bohnert interjected.
Rogers Coach Matthew Fulton said that's exactly what they did.
"With a No. 1 seed, you expect them to compete at the highest level, and they didn't have any hiccups today," Fulton said. "It was pretty uneventful."
Fulton said they are both good singles players who are learning to play together as a doubles team this year.
"To make them into a doubles team is a lot more difficult," Fulton said. "But they learned how to be good communicators with one another and trust one another. That really helps when they play."
Both players said learning to play together was not easy.
"I feel like I'm really solid at the net, and I just learned how to move with Grace very well," said Bohnert, who finished fourth in the Class 6A singles draw last season. "It's just like a whole other ballgame. It's completely different from singles. You don't have someone to cover you, and you don't have someone you have to communicate with."
Springdale Har-Ber's doubles team of Conor Clardy and Hayden Swope have more experience together but also have their eye on a state title.
Clardy and Swope, who finished fourth in the state a year ago, also stayed undefeated and cruised into today's semifinals with a 6-3, 6-1 win over the Little Rock Catholic team of Harrison Cook and Collier Allison.
The Har-Ber team also admitted to feeling a little nervous playing in front of a home crowd.
"We just had to get used to it," Clardy said. "We had a bunch of our friends out there that played a part in it. But we got rolling and didn't look back."
"Having the support helps," Swope said. "It helps me clear my mind, and knowing people are on my side helped me play better as I went along."
Har-Ber Coach Rick Horne said the two have grown together with a second season under their belts.
"They are thinking alike," Horne said. "They are on auto mode. It's just meshing, and they're doing that."
Bentonville West's Hayden Shoemake, last year's state runner-up in boys' singles, had an easy time with a 6-1, 6-0 quarterfinal win over Little Rock Catholic's Jonathan Hart.
Both Little Rock Central's boys' doubles teams advanced to the semifinals. Phil Abston and Zandy Djurica, who finished as state runner-up a year ago, had to rally to advance to the semifinals. They survived a quadruple match point in the third set and rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the tiebreaker to edge Nick Fulton and Cooper Gommel of Rogers 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (7-4).
In girls' singles, Bentonville's Ella Coleman and Fort Smith Northside's Kate Files each breezed in their quarterfinal matches. The two will meet in today's semifinals.
Class 6A State Tennis Tournament
At Wildcat Tennis Center, Springdale Har-Ber
Monday’s Results
Boys
Singles
First Round
Jonathan Hart, Little Rock Catholic def. Daniil Riabuchin, Bentonville High, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Jack Mason, Fayetteville vs. Kaden Hyatt, Fort Smith Northside
Vikram Balesekaran, Bentonville High def. Will Thames, Fort Smith Northside, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Yashwanth, vs. Neil Chatlani, Rogers High, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Quarterfinals
Hayden Shoemaker, Bentonville West, def. Hart, Little Rock Catholic, 6-1, 6-0.
Jack Mason, Fayetteville, def. Jake Maxson, Little Rock Central, by forfeit.
Jackson Davis, Little Rock Catholic, vs. Balesekaran, Bentonville High, 6-2, 4-0 (retired).
Tucker Harris, Fayetteville, vs. Gokarakonda, Little Rock Central, 6-3, 6-0.
Semifinals
Shoemake, Bentonville West, vs. Jack Mason, Fayetteville.
Davis, Little Rock Catholic, vs. Harris, Fayetteville.
Doubles
First Round
Harrison Cook/Collier Allison, Little Rock Catholic def. Javan Childress/Artemis Hogue, Fayetteville, 6-1, 6-2.
Sankalp Pandey/Kaushik Sivakumar, Bentonville West def. Reiter Ahlert/Daniel Kiss, Fort Smith Southside, 7-5, 6-2.
Nick Fulton/Cooper Gommel, Rogers High def. Wallis Allen/Tommy Nolan, Little Rock Catholic, 6-3, 6-0.
Griffin Huckelbury/Sam Carlisle, Fort Smith Northside def. Tyler Phelan/Topher Jacobus, Fayetteville, 7-5, 6-2.
Quarterfinals
Conor Clardy/Hayden Swope, Springdale Har-Ber, def. Cook/Allison, Little Rock Catholic, 6-3, 6-1.
Ben Heflin/Stefan Tudoreanu, Little Rock Central, def. Pandey/Sivakumar, Bentonville West, 7-6, 7-6.
Phil Abston/Zandy Djurica, Little Rock Central, def. Fulton/Gommel, Rogers High, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (7-4).
Ricky Iselin/Emilano Aguirre, Bentonville High, def. Huckelbury/Carlisle, Fort Smith Northside, 6-2, 6-1.
Semifinals
Clardy/Swope, Springdale Har-Ber, vs. Heflin/Tudoreanu, Little Rock Central.
Abston/Djurica, Little Rock Central, vs. Iselin/Aguirre, Bentonville High.
Girls
Singles
First Round
Ashleigh Darnell, Conway, def. Alison Blunden, Rogers High, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
Paige Weston, Bentonville West, def. Tasha Moreland, Mount St. Mary, 6-4, 6-2.
Jelani Jones, Little Rock Central, def. Mary Houston, Fayetteville by injury default.
Eleanor Burks, Little Rock Central, def. VarunikaVijkay, Bentonville High, 6-1, 6-2.
Quarterfinals
Ella Coleman, Bentonville High, def. Darnell, Conway, 6-0, 6-0.
Kate Files, Fort Smith Northside, def. Weston, Bentonville West, 6-1, 6-0.
Presley Southerland, Mount St. Mary, def. Jones, Little Rock Central, 6-0, 6-0.
Cassie Cervantez, Bentonville West, def. Burks, Little Rock Central, 6-3, 6-1.
Semifinals
Coleman, Bentonville High, vs. Files, Fort Smith Northside.
Southerland, Mount St. Mary, vs. Cervantez, Bentonville West.
Doubles
First Round
Caroline Stewart/Avery Weilert, Fayetteville def. Libby Franks/Hagan Smith, Mount St. Mary 6-1, 6-2.
Jessica Hood/Ananya Vangoor, Bentonville West, def. Ashlyn Roffini/ Kate Coleman, Fort Smith Southside, 6-4,,6-2.
Olivia Roberts/Shreya Kurichety, Bentonville High, def. Emma Turner/Molly Madar, Cabot, 7-6, 6-1.
Ashley Kelley and Taylor Metcalf, Rogers High. def. Libby Raffailli/Anna Grace, Mount St. Mary, 6-2, 6-3.
Quarterfinals
Jenna Bohnert/Grace Lueders, Rogers High, def.Stewart/Weilert, Fayetteville, 6-0, 6-0.
Hood/Vangoor, Bentonville West, def. Emily Belin/Maggie Gibson, Cabot, 6-0, 6-3.
Roberts/Kurichety, Bentonville High, def. Anna Nelligan/Jordan Cormier, Fort Smith Southside, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1.
Sarah Schneringer/Kristyn Tappana, Bentonville West, def. Kelley/Metcalf, Rogers High, 6-2, 6-2.
Semifinals
Bohnert/Lueders, Rogers High, vs. Hood/Vangoor, Bentonville West.
Roberts/Kurichety, Bentonville High, vs. Schneringer/Tappana, Bentonville West
Sports on 10/15/2019