PLANO:  The Varsity Tennis team took to the courts again on Monday afternoon for a district matchup with Parish Episcopal.  The Cardinals, last seen in a dominant 9-1 win over Prestonwood last week, turned heads again yesterday in a big win over the Panthers.

John Paul II shredded Parish Episcopal in singles play, as each of the top-two boys and girls singles players for the Cards came away with wins.  Boys #1 single Jake Vo saw some good competition in his match, winning 6-1. 6-3, while Boys #2 single Jonas Aronsson kept his opponent off the scoreboard in the second set, winning 6-3, 6-0.  Similarly, Girls #1 single Nataly Montemayor prevented her Panther adversary from completing the comeback with a 6-1, 6-3 win.  Girls #2 single Valeria Gonzalez had the strongest performance of all the singles competitions, shutting out her opponent 6-0, 6-0, a double bagel.    

The match of the day was played between Will Dawson and Aaron Keith for the Cardinals and Trey Smith and Liam McGonnell for the Panthers.  In a match that required a third set tiebreak, both teams appeared to gain the edge at different points.  Parish won the first set 6-3, but JPII countered with a 6-3 win of its own in the second.  Eeventually, the Panthers came away with the win following a wild 1(10)-0(8) tiebreaker.  The Boys #2 doubles pairing of Jackson Betz and Alex Rossigno had no trouble with their counterparts, crusing to a 6-1, 6-2 win with some outstanding net play.  

The Cardinals return to the ESC again tomorrow, where they'll face Bishop Lynch at 4:30, followed by the Senior Night ceremony at 6:30pm.