Post by cbrown1709 on May 27, 2007 17:43:14 GMT -5
www.bellevueleader.com/site/tab3.cfm?newsid=18371906&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=556339&rfi=6
Tennis title for Ailes caps off stellar year for West grad
By: Eric Taylor, Leader sports editor
05/22/2007
Playing tennis is fun for Gabi Ailes.
Her opponents probably don't feel the same way.
The Bellevue West senior rolled through the state's top No. 2 singles players last weekend, losing just five games on route to a state title at the Koch Family Tennis Center at Tranquility.
She became the first West state champion since Tracy LaMontagne in 1997 and just the third in the history of the girls' program. Ailes helped the T-birds to a fifth-place finish, their second consecutive in the top five.
Ailes' title gave her a clean sweep for the season after the Thunderbird volleyball and basketball teams she was on also claimed state supremacy.
"I'm a pretty competitive person, but I really have a lot of fun playing tennis," Ailes said.
In a repeat of the Metro Conference final a week earlier, Ailes dominated Marian's Kathy Schuele in the finals with a 6-2, 6-0 verdict. Ailes had lost just two games in defeating Schuele the previous week.
"I was really confident she would win," West coach Steve Lemon said. "You just always know with Gabi that she'll be ready. Mentally, she's so tough."
Ailes, who finished the season 27-2, has only been playing tennis for three years and she's the first to tell you she doesn't possess the shot-making skill of many of her opponents.
But what she may lack in style, she makes up for in hustle and persistence, getting to nearly every ball and frustrating opponents to no end.
"I'll be honest, I always end up playing to the style of my opponent," she said. "But my strategy is to get to every ball and I think after a while, that frustrates them."
Ailes finished third at state a year ago and the desire to go a step further this season drove her over the past year.
After borrowing a racket from coach Lemon's wife last year, Ailes got her own equipment this season and also took some private lessons after school.
"I worked really hard to improve my game," she said. "I feel like I understand the game a lot better."
One of Ailes' volleyball teammates, Ashley Petak, teamed up with Laine Anderson to finish third at No. 2 doubles. After dropping a three-set match to Marian in the semifinals, the second-seeded T-birds rallied to top Lincoln Southwest in three sets in the third-place match.
"Those girls really played well, especially over the last few weeks of the season," Lemon said of the team that ended the season with a 15-2 record.
West's No. 1 singles player (Caitlin Christy) and No. 1 doubles team of Brittany Speckhals and Jackie Clerc each finished with 1-1 records.
Lemon, the Metro Conference Coach of the Year, saw his team tie the school record for the best state meet finish and end a stellar campaign by winning five invites.
"To be in the top five again is something we're very proud of," he said. "What a year it's been."
Bellevue East finished in 13th position while Bryan failed to score a point.
East got victories from three of its four entries. Kristi Mickelson won a match at No. 1 singles, as did Katie Tew at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Rachel Ford and Janea Hagen.
Tennis title for Ailes caps off stellar year for West grad
By: Eric Taylor, Leader sports editor
05/22/2007
Playing tennis is fun for Gabi Ailes.
Her opponents probably don't feel the same way.
The Bellevue West senior rolled through the state's top No. 2 singles players last weekend, losing just five games on route to a state title at the Koch Family Tennis Center at Tranquility.
She became the first West state champion since Tracy LaMontagne in 1997 and just the third in the history of the girls' program. Ailes helped the T-birds to a fifth-place finish, their second consecutive in the top five.
Ailes' title gave her a clean sweep for the season after the Thunderbird volleyball and basketball teams she was on also claimed state supremacy.
"I'm a pretty competitive person, but I really have a lot of fun playing tennis," Ailes said.
In a repeat of the Metro Conference final a week earlier, Ailes dominated Marian's Kathy Schuele in the finals with a 6-2, 6-0 verdict. Ailes had lost just two games in defeating Schuele the previous week.
"I was really confident she would win," West coach Steve Lemon said. "You just always know with Gabi that she'll be ready. Mentally, she's so tough."
Ailes, who finished the season 27-2, has only been playing tennis for three years and she's the first to tell you she doesn't possess the shot-making skill of many of her opponents.
But what she may lack in style, she makes up for in hustle and persistence, getting to nearly every ball and frustrating opponents to no end.
"I'll be honest, I always end up playing to the style of my opponent," she said. "But my strategy is to get to every ball and I think after a while, that frustrates them."
Ailes finished third at state a year ago and the desire to go a step further this season drove her over the past year.
After borrowing a racket from coach Lemon's wife last year, Ailes got her own equipment this season and also took some private lessons after school.
"I worked really hard to improve my game," she said. "I feel like I understand the game a lot better."
One of Ailes' volleyball teammates, Ashley Petak, teamed up with Laine Anderson to finish third at No. 2 doubles. After dropping a three-set match to Marian in the semifinals, the second-seeded T-birds rallied to top Lincoln Southwest in three sets in the third-place match.
"Those girls really played well, especially over the last few weeks of the season," Lemon said of the team that ended the season with a 15-2 record.
West's No. 1 singles player (Caitlin Christy) and No. 1 doubles team of Brittany Speckhals and Jackie Clerc each finished with 1-1 records.
Lemon, the Metro Conference Coach of the Year, saw his team tie the school record for the best state meet finish and end a stellar campaign by winning five invites.
"To be in the top five again is something we're very proud of," he said. "What a year it's been."
Bellevue East finished in 13th position while Bryan failed to score a point.
East got victories from three of its four entries. Kristi Mickelson won a match at No. 1 singles, as did Katie Tew at No. 2 singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Rachel Ford and Janea Hagen.
