By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
The Dowagiac varsity tennis team finished tied for fifth at the Parchment Invitational on Friday at Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium.
Forest Hills Eastern won the tournament with 28 points. Grand Rapids West Catholic finished second with 20 points, while Vicksburg was third with 19 points. Kalamazoo Central placed fourth with 18 points.
The Chieftains tied with Otsego and Buchanan. Host Parchment and Paw Paw tied for eighth with 16 points. Niles was 10th with 14 points and Lake Michigan Catholic last with eight points.
Dowagiac's Ashley Smith finished second at No. 2 singles. Smith was 3-1 on the day. Taylor Townsend, Calie Daniels and Shelly Urbanski all finished fourth in singles play with records of 3-1.
Dowagiac's doubles teams did not place, but all won at least one match.
Kate Duszynski and Kayleigh Sundman were 2-2 at No. 1 doubles, while Samantha Stone and Jessica Robinson were 2-2 at No. 3 doubles.
Tonya Scherer and Elizabeth Kolden finished with a 1-3 record at No. 2 doubles, as did the Chieftains' No. 4 doubles team of Katie Tyrakowski and Kristan Stelmasiak.
"Overall, our singles played extremely well," Dowagiac coach Chuck Rubino said. "Taylor avenged another loss as she beat the girl from Vicksburg she lost to last weekend at Niles. Ashley smith also had a great day. Despite having a sore knee, she battled her way into the finals. This was a good experience for our doubles teams. They got a lot of court time."
Dowagiac is back in action today as it resumes its Wolverine Conference match with South Haven from last week. The Chieftains and Rams will pick up where they left off in their rain-suspended match at 4:30 p.m.
This will be a busy week for the Chieftains, who will host Vicksburg on Wednesday in a league match.
Parchment Invitational
At Kalamazoo College
Team Scores
Forest Hills Eastern 28, Grand Rapids West Catholic 20, Vicksburg 19, Kalamazoo Central 18, Dowagiac 17, Otsego 17, Buchanan 17, Parchment 16, Paw Paw 16, Niles 14, Lake Michigan Catholic 8