BENTONVILLE -- Kendra Dinsmore and Mallory Tabler hope the third time will be the charm.
They reached the Class 7A state tournament final in girls doubles as freshmen three years ago, then did it again last year -- only to fall short in the title match on both occasions. The two Bentonville seniors are now down to their last chance, and they are determined to make it count.
At A Glance
Bentonville 2014 Tennis Schedule
Aug. 21^Hot Springs Lakeside/Rogers High^1 p.m.
Aug. 25^Fort Smith Northside/Van Buren^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 4^at Van Buren&^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 8^Fayetteville^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 11^Rogers High^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 15^Springdale High School^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 18^at Fort Smith Southside^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 22^Springdale Har-Ber^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 25^Rogers Heritage^3:30 p.m.
Sept. 29^at Rogers High (Cancer Challenge)^3:30 p.m.
Oct. 2^at Fayetteville^3:30 p.m.
Oct. 6^Pulaski Academy/Rogers High^1 p.m.
Oct. 14-15^7A-West Conference Tournament^TBA
Oct. 20-21^at Class 7A State Tournament^TBA
& — will also play North Little Rock this day
"Those two are super-charged," Bentonville coach Nick Nersesian said. "They have been sitting in the doubles finals, only to lose, and they're on a mission.
"I'm telling them right now it is theirs if they work hard. They have added a few things to their game, and I think they are ready. They want to finish out their senior years with that title, so they are hungry."
The Dinsmore-Tabler team is the only thing Nersesian has set as the Lady Tigers head into their season opener next week, but he has a number of directions he can go. That's because all but one of Bentonville's top six players are back from a team that finished one point short of a Class 7A state title.
Sophomore Emma Baker reached the semifinals in singles play, while Kruti Shah and EmilyAnne Gean made up the Lady Tigers' No. 2 doubles team and reached the state quarterfinals. Those three, as well as incoming players such as Bessie Sullivan, Avery Hargrove, Emily Snyder and Rachna Paruchuri, give Nersesian enough flexibility to find the right combination.
"With Kruti playing hard, and with Emma and EmilyAnne, we can keep the lineup the same way we finished," Nersesian said. "We can also move things around. We have the luxury of having that experience, and we have the dynamic to do something big and go far."
Bentonville's boys are in a similar situation this fall. Andrew Miller has secured a spot in singles play after he reached the state semifinals last season, and three other players back from a team that won a fourth consecutive state championship.
There will be some tweaking since Ryan Hargrove and Jack Neal, both members of separate doubles teams, need new partners. Hargrove could make the move to single play if necessary, and Nersesian has a lot of depth available with Keegan Chronister, Robert Terry, Doug Terry, David Abston and Reed Hoehn ready to move into the rotation.
"Ryan has really matured over the last couple of years," Nersesian said. "Winning a couple of titles has shown him what it takes to get there, and he learned a lot from Michael Morse -- more mental than anything. I think he has a little to prove out there.
"There are a lot of holes to fill this year, and it's hard to maintain that level. With what everybody expects from Bentonville, I think we have a bigger target on our backs, and we're going to need some people to step up. We have some juniors, some sophomores and a good group of freshmen coming in that could fill those holes."
Sports on 08/10/2014