LONDON — North Laurel coach Bobby Smith was pleased with the way his Jaguar team performed in the North Laurel Boys’ Classic Tennis Tournament.
Jaguar players went up against strong competition, and came away with some wins while placing sixth overall with 10.5 points.
Trinity win the event with 24 points while Sayre (17 points), South Warren (16), Bourbon County (12.5), and Simon Kenton (12) rounding out the top five teams.
“We had a really strong field for our North Laurel Tennis Classic,” Smith said. “We got what we wanted out of this tournament — multiple matches for each of our entries against some really good competition.”
Smith said he was proud with the effort of all of his players.
“Zaid (Salim) had three tight matches and this will serve him well as we get back to some big upcoming region matches,” he said. “He had a good comeback win against Covington Holy Cross.
“I’m really pleased with the progress Jackson Gilbert has made,” he added. “He played very well against a fine player from Sayre and finished the day with a good win against Bourbon County.”
Smith said he was impressed with the way his doubles teams continued to play hard throughout their matches.
Colton Cunagin and Finn McArdle turned in a third place effort in the event.
“I’m really happy for Colton and Finn earning 3rd place in the No. 2 doubles draw,” Smith said. “Those two are starting to turn into a quality doubles team. We had a great comeback win to beat Bourbon County in the first round, ran into a buzzsaw against Trinity, then regrouped to oust Montgomery County for third place.
“Jasper Jones and Derek Vaughn started with a solid win versus Simon Kenton before playing two teams from Trinity and South Warren, who will probably be highly seeded at state,” he added. “We played Trinity tough in the first set, and it’s definitely something to build from by playing competitively against a top team like Trinity.”
