Wise County Messenger Online

Bridgeport High School tennis coach Cheila Demmitt knew her team had its hands full last week at the Denton tournament. The event, which had nearly 200 athletes on hand, featured some of the top players in North Texas and the matches were held on courts all over the city.

This did not keep Bridgeport from turning in a solid performance. Demmitt was pleased with the showing of her varsity boys' and girls' teams two-day event.

The top finish came on the boys' side where No. 2 singles player Ryan Robinson overcame a first round loss by winning four in a row to win the consolation title.

The championship was a classic battle as he took on Tim Breskowski of Kennedale. Robinson won a 7-6 tiebreaker to win the set 10-8, 6-1 - his second consolation title of the year.

Robinson opened with an 8-2 loss to Krum's Zach Martin. He quickly bounced back to beat Cole Brizendine of Kennedale 8-5.

He went on to cruise past Drew Drennan of Coram Deo Academy 8-0 before beating Trevor Cole of Canyon Creek 8-3 to reach the championship.

Also in boys' play, Jerry Ibanez drew a tough seed in the No. 1 singles match. He opened with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Denton's Hee Won Kim, the third seed in the tournament.

Things did not get easier for Ibanez as he faced Denton Guyer's Ryan Billups, the top player for the Wildcats. Despite fighting through several rallies, he came up short in a 6-4, 6-3 loss.

"Jerry did a great job playing in a tough division this year as a singles player," said Demmitt.

The Sissies had a good showing from their two singles players. Shannon Demmitt and Micaela White both won their opening round before slipping in the second match.

Demmitt, a returning letterman for Bridgeport, defeated Becca Lucas of Liberty Christian 8-1 in the first round of play. She came up short later in the day in a 8-5 loss to Denton's Stephanie Sidoti.

"This was a very intense match," said her coach. "Shannon had many great shots and long rally points. Sidoti went on to win the championship."

Bridgeport's No. 1 singles player did not disappoint either. White, just a freshman, beat Denton's Sabrina Mackenzie 6-3, 6-2 to start things.

The talented ninth grader, who just returned to action from a week-long illness, did not have the strength to get past Krum's Afton Barber in the next round. She dropped a 6-2, 6-2 contest.

The mixed doubles team of Jared Hudson and Ashley Watkins also went 1-1 in the tournament. They beat Garrack Phillips and Brittani Sarrett of Farmersville 6-1, 6-0 before falling to Irene Deane and Natasha Randolph of Denton Guyer 6-3, 7-5.

Watkins hurt her arm in the match but continued to play. She later found out she finished the match playing with a broken elbow.