Torrington saw improvement all around when compared to how we did against Kelly Walsh last year.”

Coach Lauren Shields

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The THS tennis team is away to play Laramie and Sheridan on September 6-7.

CASPER – The Torrington High School boys’ and girls’ tennis teams traveled to Casper to compete against both Kelly Walsh and Natrona County high schools on Thursday, August 29.

The Blazer boys fell to Kelly Walsh, 4-1, while the Lady Blazers came up short 5-0.

Despite the scores, Torrington “saw improvement all around when compared to how we did against Kelly Walsh last year,” coach Lauren Shields said.

Taking on Natrona County on Thursday afternoon, the Torrington boys came up short, 3-2, while the Lady Blazers fell, 5-0.

“As a team overall, we are going to work hard on improving our serving and our fitness level in the next couple of weeks before regionals and state,” Shields said.

Torrington hosted Alliance and Gering on Tuesday. Results were not available at press time.

Boys vs. Kelly Walsh

Senior Elijah Hatch won the No. 2 singles match, 6-1 and 6-3.

“Elijah played well against Kelly Walsh,” Shields remarked. “He started to play smart and simple and wait for his opportunity to hit the winner. He is starting to relax more and it shows in his play.”

Skyler Thomas, also a senior, fell in the No. 1 singles match, 6-4 and 6-1.

“Skyler was down in the second set, 5-2, but came back to make it 5-4, but lost, 6-4,” Shields said. “Skyler will battle and grind and I don’t count him out of a match.”

In doubles, sophomores Benaiah Steinbrecher and Braxton Carlson fell, 6-0 and 6-1.

“Ben and Braxton struggled with their returns and communication, but they both kept their spirits up and were good teammates,” Sheilds noted. “They always work hard.”

In the No. 2 doubles match, seniors Gabe Posten and Marcus Jones came up short in three sets, 6-3, 7-6 and 6-2.

“Gabe and Marcus keep playing better and better together – hitting more volleys and playing better tennis,” Shields said.

The No. 3 doubles team – junior Silas Kiiskinen and sophomore Maxton Matthews – fell, 6-0 and 6-1.

“These boys seemed nervous in their match and played with more hesitance and caution than usual,” Shields added.

Girls vs. Kelly Walsh

Senior Madix McIntosh played No. 1 singles and fell, 6-4 and 6-1.

“Madix was playing good long points with the Kelly Walsh No. 1 singles girl,” Shields said. “After the match, Madix was positive – this year, she took her opponent to deuce a bunch of times and won some games. She is making great growth.”

In the No. 2 singles game, sophomore Madison Hatch came up short, 6-2 and 6-0.

“At the beginning of the match, Madison was playing amazing,” Shields noted. “She was playing clean tennis, not making errors and jumped out to a 2-0 lead.”

Junior Laney Grubbs and sophomore Aftyn Hager fell in the No. 2 doubles match, 6-0 and 6-1.

“Laney and Aftyn have never played together, but they stayed upbeat and worked hard,” Shields said.

In the No. 2 doubles match, juniors Haley DeFoe and Addison Hansen fell, 6-1 and 6-0.

“These girls communicate well with each other and do a pretty good job staying positive on the court,” Shields remarked.

The No. 3 doubles team – sophomores Keelin Connelly and Inez Chavez – came up short, 6-5 and 6-1.

“Keelin and Inez play well together and communicate well,” Shields said. “Both girls really focused on getting to the net to volley.”

Boys vs. NCHS

Both the boys’ No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams won their matches.

Steinbrecher and Carlson fell in the first set of the No. 1 doubles, 6-3, before rallying to win the second set, 7-6, along with the third, 6-6 (default).

“When these boys are focused and playing well, they can play with almost any other doubles team.”

Kiiskinen and Matthews won the No. 2 doubles match, 7-6 and 6-3.

The No. 3 doubles team of Posten and Jones won the first set, 6-4, before falling, 6-3 and 6-4.

In singles, Thomas fell in the No. 1 match, 6-2 and 6-1.

Hatch came up short, 6-4 and 6-1, in the No. 2 singles match.

Girls vs. NCHS

McIntosh fell in the No. 1 singles match, 6-0 and 6-1.

Grubbs played No. 2 singles, coming up short, 6-1 and 6-0.

Hatch teamed up with junior Natalie Lira in the No. 1 doubles match, falling, 7-6 and 6-0.

In the No. 2 doubles match, DeFoe and Connelly fell, 6-1 and 6-4.

Hansen and Chavez played No. 3 singles and came up short, 6-1 and 6-4.