Carl Albert girls tennis team takes fifth at home opener

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Carl Albert’s tennis teams kicked off the season last week with a home tournament at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center.

The Carl Albert boys placed sixth in the Carl Albert Tournament on Friday, while the girls team was fifth on Saturday.

Senior Keegan McLaughlin led the way for the boys by placing second at No. 1 singles. He opened with a win over Norman North’s Tage Rex, before beating Norman’s Caleb Stovall and Crossings Christian’s Ben VanLandingham – both in three sets.

McLaughlin did not play in the finals as a precautionary measure, after logging 6 ½ hours on the court in his first three matches. Ada’s Halston Redwine won by default.

Tyler Shaw finished third at 2 singles after bouncing back from a semifinal loss. He finished the day with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Crossings Christian’s Zander Nelson.

At 2 doubles, Ben Sutterfield and T.J. Niles went 2-2 to finish fourth. Luke Fouquette and Carter Reese placed 12th at 2 doubles.

Midwest City also took part in the tournament. Josh Orrell led the way for the Bombers with a 13th-place finish at 2 singles.

Ada won the team title with 54 points, followed by Norman North (50) and Crossings Christian (49). Carl Albert placed sixth with 43 team points.

On Saturday, the Carl Albert girls had a pair of third place finishes. Bailey Rusche took third as 2 singles, as did Rylee Reese and Brylee Toney at 1 doubles.

Rusche finished the tournament with a three-set win against Yukon’s Rebekah Finocchairo. After splitting the first two sets, Rusche took the tiebreaker 10-8.

Reese and Toney beat Norman North in their third place match 6-4, 6-2.

Zoey Shaw finished seventh at 1 singles, and Lily Bryant and Georgia Mosher finished 11th at 2 doubles.

Midwest City’s girls also competed on Saturday and placed 12th at 2 doubles.