A-GRADE PRODUCT: BHS boys hard-nosed battlers on the court, in the classroom
Bartlesville High School's boys tennis players ran into a buzzsaw in two divisions at last weekend’s Class 6A state tournament.But, in the end the Bruins clamored to fit on the top level of the podium — as the Class 6A Boys Tennis State Academic Championship squad.In the classroom, the Bruins — consisting of Jack Auschwitz (No. 1 singles), Mark Shaw (No. 2 singles), Will Bolding and Owen May (No. 1 doubles) and Bash White and Kade Winter (No. 2 doubles) — were A-grade perfect.Bartlesville earned the academic title with a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average.This squad was pretty good on the court, also.Five of the six members qualified for state, which took place Friday and Saturday at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center.The Bruin netters battled valiantly against rugged draws.Bolding and May made the biggest impact and finished in eighth place at No. 1 doubles.They opened up at the No. 7 seed and in the first round outlasted Norman, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.Bolding-May fell in the quarterfinals to No. 2-seeded Edmond Memorial, 6-1, 6-4, which moved them to the consolations. In the first consolation round they eliminated Deer Creek, 6-2, 6-3.But, an Owasso pair defeated Bolding-May in the consolation semifinals and a Westmoore duo downed them in the seventh-place match.They recorded an impressive 22-6 season record.Auschwitz and White-Winter both went 0-2 in tourney play. Auschwitz had to open up against the state’s No. 1-ranked Brett Keeling of Jenks. A player from Deer Creek ended Auschwitz tourney journey.White-Winter lost in the first round to No. 3 Broken Arrow and then fell to a combo from Tulsa Union.Auschwitz — the team’s lone senior — recorded a 19-9 season mark.No. 2 singles player Mark Shaw — a varsity rookie who barely missed out qualifying for state — fashioned a 13-13 mark.White-Winter whittled out a 20-8 record.Bartlesville tennis coach Bryan Reese is set to return five varsity starters for next season.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: BHS boys hard-nosed battlers on court, in classroom
