Published: May 16, 2008 11:28 am            

Special season for Lady Pioneer tennis

Doug Fort said his team had one of the best years in program history, and he’s got the numbers to prove it.

Fort, coach of the Stillwater High girls tennis team, said the past season may have been the best for the program since it won the state title in 1982.

“This was a special team for us,” Fort said. “This year, we put more girls into state then we have as long as I can remember.”

Those players included Fort’s daughters, Chelsea, a senior, and Hayley, a sophomore.

Chelsea, a four-year letter winner, teamed with Christin Klute at No. 2 doubles to place sixth at the state tournament.

“They were essentially two points from playing in the semifinals,” Fort said.

Hayley and junior Ashley Batchelder qualified for the state tournament at No. 1 doubles after entering the regional tournament unseeded.

“It was a big upset for them just to get in,” said Fort, in his third year leading the program.

Sophomore Becky Grado rounded out the state tournament contingent, qualifying at No. 2 singles and winning her first match.

With a little luck, junior Tania Kanga, the squad’s No. 1 singles player, also could have qualified for state.

“She played very well at regionals,” Fort said. “She just had a tough draw.”

Kanga just missed by finishing sixth as the regional — only the top four go to state.

The team finished in 11th place at the state tournament among 32 teams in 5A, good enough to meet Fort’s goals for the season.

“My goal this year was to be at a point where our team could actually score points (and) be recognized in the top 15 schools in 5A,” he said. “We’ve had some good players come through but we’ve never performed exceptionally well at state.”

Fort said he was proud of his players because they do not have the benefit of indoor practice facilities like many of their competitors.

“It makes it a lot tougher on us but I also feel a lot better when we do well,” Fort said.

The team also had to quickly meld together players from diverse backgrounds, as Klute is an exchange student from Germany and Grado is from Mexico. While the players made it work well this season, it poses a problem for next year as Klute will be going home, Chelsea Fort is graduating and Grado could be returning to Mexico as her father has completed his program at Oklahoma State University.

“I don’t know that we’ll be as strong (next) year, but my goal will basically be the same,” Fort said. “Get as many girls to state as we can and score points.”

        

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