Document text
56 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, May 7, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 30, 2005 Ashland�s Miles Rooklyn, back, serves during a doubles match as teammate Cory Lescher waits for the return during Friday�s Ashland/North Medford Invitational. The duo earned a spot in today�s semifinals. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Right on track Ashland gets off to strong start at Invitational By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Together, Cory Lescher and Ross Mather gave Ashland’s boys tennis team a formidable pairing in doubles last year. Apart, they’ve made the Grizzlies a more complete team overall this season. With Mather moved to No. 1 singles and Lescher joined by good friend Miles Rooklyn at No. 1 doubles, Ashland has been a force to be reckoned with this season and is an odds-on favorite to claim the Southern Oregon Conference district title in two weeks. "It’s worked out pretty well for us," Ashland coach Dick Streng said of having two of his standouts splinter off. All involved were in full swing Friday during the first day of action in the Ashland/North Medford Invitational at North Medford High’s Varsity Courts. Advertisement Mather wasted little time in dispatching Mountain View’s Matt Jones with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph, while the tandem of Lescher and Rooklyn were equally as dominant in posting a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Cory DeYoung and Taylor Anderson of Mountain View. Both wins allowed Ashland’s top singles and doubles standouts to remain undefeated on the season, and earned them a spot in today’s semifinals beginning at 9 a.m. It also allowed the Grizzlies to tie Newberg for the first-day lead in the eight-team invitational with 46 points apiece. Bend enters today’s final action in third place with 36 points, followed by Summit (35), Lake Oswego (32), North Medford (28), Corvallis (27) and Mountain View (18). Last year, Mather and Lescher teamed to finish fourth in the district tournament in doubles and advanced to the state tournament, only to bow out on the first day. A closer examination of each player’s strengths in the offseason led to Mather’s move to singles, and the left-hander hasn’t let his team down playing in the top spot. "He’s been pretty consistent," said Streng. "He doesn’t do more than he can do. That’s kind of been a trademark of his play. "Ross is more of a reactionary player," added the coach. "He plays on the baseline and if you hit a short ball then he’ll seize the opportunity, whereas Cory tends to be more aggressive. And in doubles we’ve found that if you’re to the net first and more aggressive, you have more of a chance to win." Enter Rooklyn, who possesses a similar tenacity on the court as Lescher and shares an outstanding camaraderie with his life-long pal. "Cory and I have been friends since we were like 5 so our communication is really easy on the court," said Rooklyn. The seniors were certainly in good form Friday against Mountain View, pouncing on every opportunity to score in a match determined mostly by power serves or returns. "I think Cory and I hit the ball pretty hard and are both pretty good at the net so a fast game like that is definitely an advantage for us," Rooklyn said of Friday’s matchup. "A lot of that was placement of the ball, too," added Lescher. "We really stressed their weaknesses." And played as a team, which is a prevailing attitude that has served all the Grizzlies well thus far. "They’re friends and they believe in each other and they get the idea that they both have to complement each other and it’s not going to be one guy who has to be the big player," said Streng. To wit, Lescher and Rooklyn have nothing but praise for the other. "Cory’s super-quick and super-good at the net and has really powerful strokes and serves," Rooklyn said in analyzing his partner. "Miles is an excellent player," countered Lescher. "He’s very consistent with all his hits and he never gets down if he misses a shot. He’s always positive and that’s a big one when it comes to winning." And being separated from Mather now affords Lescher a chance to sit back and watch his former playing partner perform. "He’s got the mind for singles and he’s also very athletic," Lescher said of Mather. "He can handle No. 1 singles very nicely. It’s been great watching him go out there and dominate the way he has." While Ashland had most everything go its way Friday, the same couldn’t be said for a young North Medford team that had most of its top draws fall to the consolation side of the bracket. Top singles player Steve Folsom dropped a tough 6-2, 6-4 match to Bend’s Kellen Garrett to open the tournament, while North Medford’s No. 1 doubles tandem of David Longmire and Michael Tribble came up short against Lake Oswego’s Garrett Smith and Conor O’Sullivan, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4. "All these teams have some good guys," said North coach Larry Fields, who values the experience more than anything else for his young squad. "I want them playing the best guys possible ... it’s only going to make them better." Folsom is a junior in his first year with the tennis team, while Longmire and Tribble are both freshmen. In other action Friday, Ashland’s Kyle Lachmund advanced to today’s semifinals at No. 2 singles with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win over Lucas Manfield of Lake Oswego, and North Medford’s Eric Loeffler advanced to the semifinals at No. 4 singles with a victory over Mountain View’s Eric Goodall. Also advancing into the semifinal round were Ashland’s No. 2 doubles team of Nick Spurlock and Gabe Hoxmeier, North’s No. 3 doubles team of Brandon Como and Arthur Huynh and Ashland’s No. 4 doubles team of Sean Cleveland and Caleb Morrison. The invitational tourney pits each team’s No. 1 player/tandem against other No. 1s and No. 2s against No. 2s and so on in separate bracketing. Accordingly, four singles winners and four doubles winners will be crowned today. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Paris Hilton Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s