Central narrowly falls to Eagles

Boys team prevails as girls struggle

The Central High School tennis team's season is still alive, but the Bobcats' district title hopes are all but gone. For the third straight year, Abilene High handed Central its only district loss Tuesday, edging the Bobcats 10-9 in a battle of state-ranked teams at the Central tennis courts. The No. 7-ranked Central boys won all nine of their matches, but the girls lost all nine of their matches. The difference would prove to be the mixed doubles match, and the No. 5-ranked Eagles prevailed 6-1, 6-4.

Abilene hasn't won the District 3-5A title yet, but it would have to lose in its last two meets, an extremely unlikely scenario for the three-time defending champs. Central, meanwhile, must now move its focus to Odessa Permian, whom the Bobcats need to beat Saturday to wrap up the second and final regional playoff berth. "The guys played outstanding, and the girls probably missed a couple of opportunities. I don't think they showed really what they can do," Central head coach Matt Rutherford said. "But we're gonna keep after it. ... They're disappointed, but they're not dejected."

Tuesday's meet was similar to the Central-Abilene matchup in San Angelo two years ago, when the Eagles also won 10-9. This year, however, the Bobcats knew with four matches remaining that they had already lost. The four Central boys left on the court still won all of their matches, including Scott Motl, who rallied from 5-3 down in the third set to win the final match of the day.

The Central boys are now a remarkable 45-0 in district play. "Losing 10-9, it's tough," said Central's boys No. 1 singles player Jeff Bryan. "Every year we've got a pretty close match with these guys, and during district, we just can't win. "But there's still a good possibility we'll meet these guys again at regionals, so it's not like it's over. We might get another shot at them."

Central's girls didn't win a set Tuesday, but there's still reason to believe they could take a match or two in a rematch with the Eagles. In their final two matches against Abilene, Central's Macy Barnett fell 6-4, 6-4, while Lindy Williams lost 6-4, 7-5. A third set in either match could have turned the tide. "We knew coming in that San Angelo was good," Abilene coach Fred Scott said. "Central's got some really good boys, and their girls are much improved. "Our game plan was to win all the girls matches, and try to find a boys match or the mixed doubles, and that's what we did."

The Bobcats will have to shake off Tuesday's disappointment and prepare for Saturday's meet against Permian, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Central tennis courts. "We can't overlook that," Bryan said. "We just need to get it together by Saturday."