ShawneeDispatch.com

Last Saturday the Mill Valley boys tennis team traveled to Gardner-Edgerton High School and competed in a tournament that included players from Gardner, Lawrence Free State, Blue Valley West, Shawnee Mission East, Olathe North and Paola.

The Jaguars had a rough outing at the tournament, drew a difficult pool and were unable to come away with a singles victory in six tries, losing to players from Blue Valley West, Olathe North and Shawnee Mission East in both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles categories.

Although the Jags could not come away with any wins in the singles events, they did get two convincing victories against Olathe North in doubles play.

For the second straight week, Eric Van Kuiken and Travis Cornolo proved to be a formidable No. 1 doubles pair for the Jaguars and defeated Olathe North 8-2 in a resounding win.

Mill Valley's No. 2 doubles team of Ernie Straub and Nate Laster also had success against North, completing the tournament sweep of the Eagles with an 8-3 victory.

While the Jaguars may not have had the success they would have liked at the all-day tournament, they were fortunate to face some opposition they will likely see at regionals, which should help them get ready in the mean time.

"It will help us in preparing for regionals," Jaguars tennis coach Melissa Hurla said. "We will see Blue Valley West again at regionals, so it was good for us to see how we match up against them and will assist us in making decisions about who will play singles and doubles for us."

So far the Jaguars have compiled a 28-35 overall team record and have had strong showings against competition from Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission North, De Soto and Lansing, among others.

Leading Mill Valley on the court this year has been Van Kuiken, a talented senior who has defeated the top players from Bishop Miege and Blue Valley and has been especially successful against league competition (3-1).

"Eric has been very solid for us all year," Mill Valley tennis coach Melissa Hurla said. "He has continued to perform well for us at No. 1 singles, and with his ability, has a very good shot at making the state tournament this year."

Also consistent for the Jaguars has been the veteran doubles combination of Ernie Straub and Nate Laster, who recently finished third at Bonner Springs against several of the area's toughest doubles pairs.

"Ernie and Nate have been playing together since they were freshmen, and they have the ability to make an impact at regionals this year," Hurla said.

Perhaps the greatest surprise this year has been the solid play of Travis Cornolo -- a freshman who has battled his way into the No. 2 singles slot and has amassed a 5-5 record despite his inexperience.

"Travis has been incredible this year," Hurla said. "He has been a huge asset in both doubles and singles play for our team, and has the ability to do very well down the stretch."

All in all, Hurla has been delighted with the team's performance over the first half of the season but believes the best is yet to come for her team if players maintain their focus over the next several weeks.

"It has been a good year thus far, and they are such an enjoyable group of guys to be around," she said. "They compete hard each time out, and if they continue to work in practice, they should be able to reach some of the high personal goals they have set for themselves of getting to state this year."

The Jaguars next varsity tune-up before regionals will be at the Washburn Rural Invitational on May 12.