Pendraks fall short in final state doubles bid

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Pendrak sisters' swan song as a tennis duo at Nevada High School ended on a disappointing note. Senior Gina and sophomore Lisa were eliminated in the consolation quarterfinals of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 1 doubles competiton at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield on Saturday. "They just did not play well," said Nevada coach Dennis Pendrak. "We had two weeks of very good practice, but you just can't duplicate live competition." "Unforced errors killed us, then we reverted to playing too conservatively," added coach Pendrak. Although weather conditions were blustery, Pendrak refused to use that as an alibi. "It was the same on both sides of the net," he said. The Pendraks won their first-round match over the team of Krystle Chase and Nicki Erikson of Marshall, 6-1, 6-1, then lost 6-1, 6-0 to the eventual Class 1 runners-up, the team of Ali King and Josephine Pang of John Burroughs. In the consolation quarterfinals, two tiebreakers were needed to settle the match. The Pendraks dropped both, 7-3, 7-0, in 7-6, 7-6 losses to Sara Sentlinger and Deena Wallace of Ozark. Gina Pendrak concluded a fine career at NHS with 98 wins in singles and doubles competition. Lisa went 31-7 in the 2003 season, while the sisters combined to go 20-5 in doubles.

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