By Terry Douglass
terry.douglass@theindependent.com

Playing with several new faces in the lineup, GICC recorded a second-place finish in its home invitational. Kearney Catholic edged the Crusaders 38-36 for the top spot in the season-opening meet.

Count Central Catholic coach Matt Westfall impressed.

"We've had some starts and stops with practice due to the weather and taking some days off for state basketball, which is all very important, but we weren't sure how they were going to play today," Westfall said. "They over-achieved, in my mind anyway, with how they responded. They had a lot of tough matches, so I think it was a good initial outing.

"It was a great way to see where everyone's at and what we need to work at."

All four Crusader positions finished with 6-1 records in the round-robin format. GICC's No. 1 doubles team of Jessica Bender and Jessica Wojcik earned a first-place finish after coming out on top in a tie-breaker, while teammates Hannah Bolton (No. 1 singles), Kiran Hamik (No. 2 singles) and Ashley Chalupa and Nicole Jacobson (No. 2 doubles) all had second-place finishes.

Bender and Wojcik came away with a top finish by mere percentage points after a three-way tiebreaker was calculated.

"Our No. 1 doubles team played well, but they have some things they need to work on and I talked to them about that," Westfall said. "They have played summer tournaments together, they both close on the net really well and there are just a couple of little things that we need to work on in practice, but they understand what those things are.

"They're going to be so much better in 10 weeks than they are right now."

While Westfall said all of the Crusaders performed well, he was particularly impressed with Jacobson. The sophomore hadn't competed in a varsity meet prior to Thursday.

"Nicole really used a lot of things that we had been working on in practice," Jacobson said. "This was her first time playing varsity at all after playing junior varsity last year, so she really stepped up and did a great job. She was brand new to it and came through with flying colors."

Playing seven matches in their first outing of the year, Westfall said the Crusaders definitely had their endurance tested.

"They're going to be really tired tonight," Westfall said. "To have your first tournament be seven matches right out of the gate is tough, so they will be sore and tired, but we'll try to build from this. They're a great group to work with that always works hard and tries their best."

Westfall said he was pleased with the way his team handled itself on the court.

"Our girls are great with sportsmanship and so that's kind of a highlight," Westfall said. "We also did a good job with teamwork and talking and supporting each other.

"It was a good start for us a good day."

GICC Invitational

Team Standings

Kearney Catholic 38, Grand Island Central Catholic 36, Waverly 26, York 21, Wilber-Clatonia 19, Lincoln Christian 12, Crete 9, Hastings St. Cecilia.

GICC Results

No. 1 singles (Hannah Bolton)def. Andrea McCain, Crete, 8-1; lost to Molly Heeney, Kearney Catholic, 8-5; def. Hannah Meyers, Hastings St. Cecilia, 8-1; def. Meredith Herring, Waverly, 8-4; def. Bri Nun, Lincoln Christian, 8-0; def. Sarah Sleight, York, 8-0; def. Katelyn Koll, Wilber-Clatonia, 8-5.

No. 2 singles (Kiran Hamik)def. Wendi Mellor, Crete, 8-4; def. Kim Stones, Kearney Catholic, 8-5; def. Bailey Mangers, Hastings St. Cecilia, 8-5; lost to Taylor Flodman, Waverly, 8-6; def. Erin Ward, Lincoln Christian, 8-0; def. Jen Workman, York, 8-0; def. Kessa Rezny, Wilber-Clatonia, 8-1.

No. 1 doubles (Jessica Bender/Jessica Wojcik)def. Jessica Chang/Christina Rezac, Crete, 8-0; def. Nickola Messbarger/Kelley Messbarger, Kearney Catholic, 8-5; def. Stephanie Connelly/Hannah Miller, Hastings St. Cecilia, 8-1; def. Kassee Minzel/Megan Ramey, Waverly, 8-3; def. Mollie Andrews/Sarah Saffee, Lincoln Christian, 8-5; lost to Teagan Beck/Michaela Fischer, York, 9-7; def. Stephanie Morrissey/Alyssa Randloph, Wilber-Clatonia, 8-0.

No. 2 doubles (Ashley Chalupa/Nicole Jacobson)def. Jacque Parrott/Abby Urbanek, Crete, 8-0; lost to Ellen Baldwin/Janna Montgomery, Kearney Catholic, 8-3; def. Lexi Schmidt/Tracy Labenz, Hastings St. Cecilia, 8-1; def. Alyssa Erickson/Laura Porath, Waverly, 8-5; def. Liz Schaefer/Lenore Peterson, Lincoln Christian, 8-3; def. Jesse James/Michaela Stuhr, York, 8-6; def. Sydnee Kiesel/Kerri Murphy, Wilber-Clatonia, 8-2.