By By ADAM FISHER and SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
NILES - Four teams may have participated in Saturday's Brandywine Invitational tennis tournament, but it was dominated by two.
Brandywine and Dowagiac won the championship at every flight. Dowagiac dominated the singles, while Brandywine's doubles carried the Bobcats.
It was a singles player, however, that made the difference in Brandywine's invitational win.
The Bobcats finished in first place at the tournament with 28 points, narrowly beating Dowagiac with 27. Paw Paw finished with 15 points and Lake Michigan Catholic had 10 points.
Amy Konopinski won the championship at No. 3 singles, the only non-Chieftain to claim a singles title, to give Brandywine the final edge over the Chieftains.
For Dowagiac, Lisa Rubino (13-1) won at No. 1 singles, Barbara Laing (12-1) won at No. 2 singles and Ann O'Keefe (11-1) won at No. 3 singles.
All three also won championships at their previous tournament, the Parchment Invitational on Sept. 12.
Ashley Urbanski (11-2) finished second at No. 3 singles as she went 2-1 on the day.
While the Chieftans' singles players kept them close, it was Brandywine's doubles teams that sealed the victory for the Bobcats.
Dowagiac's No. 1 doubles team of Amelia First and Taylor Townsend finished second with a 1-1 record on Saturday, while the No. 2 doubles team of Calie Daniels and Lindsay Tyler went 2-1 to finish second.
Ashley Smith and Kim Rutkowski also went 2-1 to finish second. Samantha Harris and Kayleigh Sundman were 1-2 and finished third for the Chieftains.
The invitational victory came after Brandywine's No. 2 singles player Jenny Cowen hurt her back during the consolation match. Because of the injury, the Bobcats lost two points due to a default.
Dowagiac (1-2-4) returns to the court on Wednesday for a Big 16 Conference crossover match at Portage Central. The Chieftains will then compete in the Edwardsburg Invitational on Saturday before hosting Coldwater in the second and final Big 16 crossover on Monday.
Team scores
Brandywine 28, Dowagiac 27, Paw Paw 15, Lake Michigan Catholic 10
Singles champions
1. Lisa Rubino (D), 2. Barbara Laing (D), 3. Amy Konopinski (B), 4. Ann O'Keefe (D)
Doubles champions
1. Bethany Daniel-Christine Dvorak (B), 2. Lisa Konopinski-Kristin Peters (B), 3. Nikki Cooper-Courtnay Schlutt (B), 4. Ashlely Valentine-Jamie Bartuska (B)