Brown injured her ankle during Bentonville’s loss to Greenwood on Saturday and was on the bench with her ankle wrapped Tuesday.

Coens would not comment on Brown’s status for next week’s state tournament.

“We’re getting her healthy,” Coens said.

Bentonville looked as though it would end the match in four sets, but Fayetteville (20-12-1, 11-3 in 7A-West) used an 8-1 run to claw back from a 23-18 deficit to force a fifth set.

Senior Sarah Pfitzinger, who finished with a match-high 17 kills, had two kills and a block assist in the rally.

Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said the Lady Purple’Dogs struggled out of serve receive much of the night.

“I don’t think we ever got in a great rhythm off serve receive,” Phelan said. “I mean, they are a great serving team and they won that serve-and-pass battle tonight.”

Thurow led a diverse Bentonville attack with 15 kills out the middle, while outside hitters Danielle Bets and Shayne Wiedemann added 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Haley Martin added 13 kills for Fayetteville.

The Lady Purple’Dogs had a shot a sharing the league title with Springdale Har-Ber, but Bentonville took care of that.

Fayetteville will now be the second seed, while the two-time defending state champion Lady Tigers will be the third seed in the state tournament in Van Buren. The Lady Purple’Dogs will get a first-round bye and play at 6 p.m. Oct. 28. Bentonville will play at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 against the No. 6 seed from the Central.

Coens said the win was especially big for the seniors in their final home match.

“Our goal was to win tonight,” Coens said. “It didn’t matter three, four or five. Senior night is a special night for the girls and now we focus on the big trophy.”

Fayetteville came out red-hot in game one, pulling away with a 14-3 run. But Bentonville adjusted and Phelan said her team did not.

“We’ve gotta give ourselves another chance to swing at the ball,” Phelan said. “We have great offense. Bentonville did a good job of adjusting. They started tipping balls on us. We’ve got to get those up to give ourselves another swing.

“That’s frustrating,” she added. “Hopefully that can fuel a good week of practice.”

“I said I had the best doubles team (Anderson-Kraus) in the state all year long, and they came out and played that way,” Pautsch said. “They were an absolutely phenomenal doubles team for the last two years.”

Mount St. Mary’s Rebecca Bailey defeated Hillyer in the finals for the second straight year after posting a 6-0, 6-3 victory. Bailey defeated Bentonville’s Morgan Ryan 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.

The Bentonville boys finished in second after leading the tournament after Monday’s first two rounds. Little Rock Central won the school’s 11th consecutive title, edging the Tigers 12-11. The Bentonville doubles team of sophomores Matt Tabler and Zach Ellis won the doubles title but the Tigers watched Central’s Mario Martinez defeat Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous in the singles final to give Central the championship.

Martinez overcame severe cramping to defeat Hodous 6-4, 1-6 ,7-6 (7-5). Both players will advance to next week’s Overall Championships.

“I drank too much Gatorade and it made me cramp, so I had to change my strategy,” Martinez said. “I can’t run to the ball and I had to take the angles away. I was really glad that I was able to pull it out at the end. I was never going to quit. I’m representing the school.”

Ellis and Tabler defeated Central’s Bobby Emerson and Austin Crawford 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to run their record to 15-0 on the year. They also advance to the Overall Championships.

“Those two sophomores came out and they absolutely played their guts out,” Pautsch said. “They could have rolled over. They were way up, and then they got down. They could have quit but they didn’t.”

CLASS 7A STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Boys Singles

Semifinals

Hodous, Fayetteville defeated Fox, LR Catholic 6-2, 6-0

Martinez, LR Central defeated Blake, FS Southside 7-5, 6-2

Finals

Martinez defeated Hodous 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5)

Boys Doubles

Semifinals

Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville defeated Bagwell-Dunn, Van Buren 6-4, 7-5

Emerson-Crawford, LR Central defeated B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 6-3, 6-4.

Finals

Z. Ellis-Tabler defeated Emerson-Crawford 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

Girls Singles

Semifinals

Hillyer, Bentonville defeated Gray, Russellville 6-1, 6-2

Bailey, Mount St. Mary’s defeated Ryan, Bentonville 6-1, 6-2

Finals

Bailey defeated Hillyer 6-0, 6-3

Girls Doubles

Semifinals

Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville defeated Word-Word, Van Buren 6-1, 6-4

Liles-Randolph, LR Central defeated Skinner-Kincannon, FS Southside 6-1, 7-5

Finals

Anderson-Kraus defeated Liles-Randolph 6-2, 6-0

TEAM STANDINGS

Boys

1-Little Rock Central 12

2-Bentonville 11

3-Fayetteville 7

4-Fort Smith Southside 3

5-Little Rock Catholic 2

5-Van Buren 2

7-Rogers High 1

Girls

1-Bentonville 13

2-Mount St. Mary’s 9

3-FS Southside 4

3-Little Rock Central 4

5-Russellville 2

5-Van Buren 2

7-Rogers High 1

7-Rogers Heritage 1

If the two Bentonville doubles teams win today, it would set up a rematch of the 7A-West Conference doubles finals that was won by Zach Ellis and Tabler.

Brandon Ellis and Shah will face Little Rock Central’s Bobby Emerson and Austin Crawford in the semifinals at 10 a.m. today.

“Brandon and Varun have to play the team from Central and I watched them and they are good,” Pautsch said. “Our guys can beat them if they do some things right.”

Zach Ellis and Tabler will face Van Buren’s Bagwell-Dunn in the other boys’ semifinals.

“We have seen them this year and had good success,” Pautsch said. “But they (Van Buren) have improved and I am impressed with them. They are in a position and now it is up to them.”

Rogers High’s Trent Lamers and Adam Hile advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory before losing to Ellis-Shah in the quarterfinals. Mounties coach Steve Peck said the quarterfinals finish was one of the best in recent years.

“We played well and we actually played better in this match (quarterfinals loss),” Peck said. “We did well in the first match and this is the first time I have had a doubles team make it past the first round at state. It felt good.”

The Lady Mounties doubles team of Caroline Kelley and Anusha Manjagi also won a first-round match before falling 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to the Little Rock Central duo of Lindsey Liles and Trinity Randolph.

“In the first match, we limited unforced errors, covered the nets well and played good team tennis,” said Lady Mounties coach Ronnie Cowan. “We were just overpowered in the second match.”

Rogers Heritage freshman Pratheepa Ravikumar won her first round match against Conway’s Mary Leath 6-0, 6-2 before losing in the quarterfinals.

CLASS 7A STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT

WHEN: 10 a.m. today

Semifinals

Hodous, Fayetteville vs. Fox, Little Rock Catholic 10 a.m.

Martinez, Little Rock Central vs. Blake, FS Southside 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Emerson-Crawford, LR Central vs. B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 10 a.m.

Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville vs. Bagwell-Dunn, Van Buren 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Hillyer, Bentonville vs. Gray, Russellville 10 a.m.

Ryan, Bentonville vs. Bailey, Mt. St. Mary’s 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Semifinals

Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville vs. Word-Word, Van Buren 10 a.m.

Liles-Randolph, Little Rock Central vs. Skinner-Kincannon, Southside 10 a.m.

Finals, 1 p.m.

Boys

1. Bentonville 6

2. Fayetteville 5

2. Little Rock Central 5

4. Fort Smith Southside 3

5. Little Rock Catholic 2

6. Van Buren 2

7. Rogers High 1

Girls

1. Bentonville 6

2. Mount St. Mary’s 4

2. FS Southside 4

4. Russellville 2

4. Van Buren 2

6. Rogers High 1

7. Rogers Heritage 1

BENTONVILLE — The Bentonville Lady Tigers had no room for error in the singles and doubles finals at the 7A-West Conference tennis tournament Wednesday at the Walton Life and Fitness Center.

It turned out to be an error-free effort by the Lady Tigers.

Bentonville’s Amy Anderson and Kendall Kraus were never threatened in the doubles finals and Oksana Hillyer defended her singles championship to lead the Lady Tigers to the league title.

Anderson-Kraus defeated Southside’s Lindsey Skinner and Cassidy Kincannon 6-2, 6-3 while Hillyer defeated Southside’s Ali Grahl 6-2, 6-4.

The Tigers already had the conference championship wrapped up heading into the finals but the Tigers made it official when Zach Ellis and Matt Tabler defeated teammates Brandon Ellis and Varun Shah 6-7, 6-3, 10-7 in the boys’ doubles finals.

Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous won the boys’ singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Rebels’ Bill Blake.

The Lady Tigers have now won the last seven league titles but Bentonville coach Paul Pautsch couldn’t celebrate until Hillyer recorded her fourth service break to finish off Grahl in the second set of a match that was closer than the final indicates.

“(Anderson-Kraus) are the best doubles team in the state and I will stand behind that,” Pautsch said. “Their win today solidifies that. That was a tough match (for Hillyer).”

Zach Ellis and Tabler are now 12-0 in doubles matches this season and Pautsch said the two sophomores should do well at next week’s state tournament in Fayetteville.

“You have to give credit to Zach and Matt, they played it right,” Pautsch said. “They had the opportunity and they took it. They played well all year.”

Rogers’ Trent Lamers and Adam Hile will be the third seed in boys doubles at the state tournament after the pair defeated Patrick Shields and Reed Churchill 4-6, 6-2, 13-11 in the third-place match. Shields-Churchill were seeded No. 1.

“I thought that was the best tennis that they played this year,” said Rogers coach Steve Peck. “That was huge the way they came back.”

7A-West Conference Tennis Tournament

Girls Singles
Finals
Hillyer, Bentonville defeated Grahl, Forth Smith Southside 6-2, 6-4

Girls Doubles
Finals
Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville defeated Skinner-Kincannon 6-2, 6-3

Boys Singles
Finals
Hodous, Fayetteville defeated Blake, Fort Smith Southside 6-3, 6-1

Boys Doubles
Finals
Z. Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville defeated B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville 6-7, 6-3, 10-7

ROGERS — Bentonville wrapped up the 7A-West Conference tennis championship Monday as the Tigers placed both doubles teams in Wednesday’s finals.

Bentonville scored 11 points in the first day of the two-day event and will get three more points as Zach Ellis and Matt Tabler will face teammates Brandon Ellis and Varun Shah in the finals.

Fayetteville’s Rob Hodous will face Fort Smith Southside’s Bill Blake in the singles finals. All the finals will be played Wednesday at the Walton Life Fitness Center in Bentonville.

The girls’ championship will come down to a winner-take-all affair between Bentonville and Southside. Bentonville’s Oksana Hillyer will face the Lady Rebels’ Ali Grahl in the singles finals while the Lady Tigers doubles team of Amy Anderson and Kendall Kraus will face Southside’s Lindsey Skinner and Cassidy Kincannon in the finals.

If each school wins one championship match, then they will be co-champions.

Bentonville coach Paul Pautsch said strong singles performances by Jordan Sheppard and Justin Pollard pushed the Tigers to their first league title in three years.

Sheppard lost to Hodous 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals while Pollard was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

“Our doubles teams worked very hard and all the kids were ready,” Pautsch said. “(Pollard) comes up with a great big victory today and gives us a conference championship before we even play the finals. Jordan Sheppard, he lost, but that was the best match I have seen him play.

“This is as good a team that I have had, depth wise, in a long, long time.”

Hillyer is the defending singles champion while Anderson-Kraus finished second at the conference tournament a year ago.

“They are the cream of the crop and they know how to play doubles,” Pautsch said. “I’m real proud of that. Hillyer made it to the state finals last year and she is playing very good tennis.”

7A-West Conference Tennis Tournament

Girls Singles

Semifinals
Hillyer, Bentonville defeated Pratheepa Ravikumar, Heritage 6-1, 6-3
Grahl, Southside defeated Ryan, Bentonville 6-0, 6-1

Finals
Wednesday
Hillyer vs. Grahl

Girls Doubles

Semifinals
Anderson-Kraus, Bentonville defeated Jones-Simpson, Southside 6-3, 6-1
Skinner-Kincannon, Southside defeated Kelly-Majagi, Rogers High 6-1, 6-0

Finals
Wednesday
Anderson-Kraus vs. Skinner-Kincannon

Boys Singles

Semifinals
Hodous, Fayetteville defeated Sheppard, Bentonville 6-2, 6-1
Blake, Southside defeated Byrd, Fayetteville 4-6, 6-0, 10-4

Finals
Wednesday
Blake vs. Hodous

Boys Doubles

Semifinals
Z.Ellis-Tabler, Bentonville defeated Chruchill-Sheilds, Fayetteville 6-3, 6-3
B. Ellis-Shah, Bentonville defeated Lamers-Hile, Rogers High 6-0, 6-4

Finals
Wednesday
Z. Ellis-Tabler vs. B Ellis-Shah

Har-Ber picked up some momentum by pulling a win in the key third set, which had 13 ties. Hesseltine’s blast out of the middle that landed just inside the sideline gave the Lady Wildcats a 24-23 lead, and Danielle’s Betts’ shot down the line sailed long to give Har-Ber the win and the 2-1 lead.

Hesseltine did not play in Har-Ber’s earlier loss to Bentonville because of an ankle injury and returned to lead her team to a win over Fort Smith Southside on Tuesday. But the senior all-state selection also came up with three kills in an 8-1 run midway through the fourth set.

“She came up big at key times,” said Jones, who was also serenaded with a chorus of happy birthday by the students in a postgame celebration.

Despite trailing by as many as seven in the fourth set, Bentonville rallied and tried to push it to a fifth set.

Har-Ber led 19-12 and was still in control at 21-15, but the Lady Tigers went on an 8-2 spurt for a 23-23 tie, keyed by back-to-back aces from Shayne Wiedemann.

Hesseltine then blasted a kill down the line and Aubrey Marsellis banged the ball off the block to close out the match.

Katie Collins led Har-Ber with 26 digs, just one less than Bentonville libero Shanna Seyfarth, who finished with a match-high 27.

Betts led Bentonville with 14 kills, while Wiedemann and senior middle hitter Sydney Thurow chipped in 13 kills each.

Bentonville coach Michelle Coens said her team failed to take advantage of some opportunities.

“My girls came out on fire,” Coens said. “We were playing as a team. We were playing almost error-free. After that we still played hard. We’re going to learn. I don’t think we took advantage of Har-Ber’s down moments.”

Bentonville finished 2-2-1 and lost to Nixa, Mo. in the quarterfinals of the gold bracket in the Springfield (Mo.) Classic volleyball tournament on Saturday.

The Lady Tigers (9-7-1) defeated Branson, Mo. and Kansas City East, but lost to Springfield Glendale and split two games with Westminster Academy in pool play. They finished second in their pool and advanced to the gold bracket, but lost to Nixa in the first round of bracket play.

Har-Ber also finished 2-2-1 in the tournament, but did not make the gold bracket. The Lady Wildcats (10-3-1) lost to Lebanon, Mo. in the opening round in the silver bracket.

Southside (6-2, 3-2 7A-West) had match point twice in the fifth game but couldn’t close it out against the Lady Tigers (8-5, 5-0).

Rebecca Brown and Shayne Wiedemann had 15 kills each for Bentonville.

PREP GOLF

Har-Ber Sweeps Rogers Heritage

Taylor Kline shot a 42 to earn medalist honors to lead Springdale Har-Ber to an easy 144-203 victory over Rogers Heritage on Thursday at Prairie Creek Country Club.

Lauren Zulpo and Kaitlyn Vogel each shot 51 in support of Kline.

On the boys’ side, Har-Ber’s Zach Coats fired an even-par 36 to take medalist, but the Wildcats lost by a stroke 170-171 to Heritage. Antonio Guererro shot a 42, followed by a 45 by Candler Boortz and a 48 from Will McDoniel for Heritage in the play five, count four format. Jared Gilstrap led Heritage with a 39.

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

Fayetteville Ramay 14, Springdale Southwest 6

Ramay held Southwest on downs at its own 4, then drove 96 yards for a score late in the first half en route to the victory Thursday.

Casey Paraday threw to Dalton Clinkscales for the only score of the night for Southwest (1-2 overall, 0-2 in Northwest Arkansas Conference).

In the eighth-grade game, Braxton Jester threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead Southwest to a 28-6 win.

Gus Vitt added a 25-yard touchdown run and Josh Poulos recovered a fumble, which led to Jester’s short touchdown run. Bryan Lemus also made three extra points for Southwest (3-0).

Jester threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Colton Weztler and added a 40-yard scoring strike to Jordan Dennis.

Springdale Central 48, Harrison 14

Miguel Salgado ran for three touchdowns to help Central improve to 3-0 with the easy nonconference win on Thursday night.

Salgado had touchdown runs of 26, 32 and 82 yards. Blake Taylor, Tucker Lee and Aaron Wellman also had touchdown runs. Pierce Phillips also threw a 15-yard TD pass to Alex Rice. Jesus Sidon also hit 6-of-7 PATs.

Central won the eighth-grade game 32-6.

Rogers Kirksey 14, Rogers Oakdale 0

Kirksey improved to 3-0 with the shutout win in eighth-grade football on Thursday.

Alex Lewis scored on a 2-yard run and Max Harrell added the second touchdown on a 4-yard quarterback keeper. Ty Galyean had a 55-yard kickoff return to set up one of those scores.

Bentonville goalkeeper Abby Risner recently verbally committed to play soccer at Mississippi State next season.

The senior, who has helped the Lady Tigers to two Class 7A state titles and one runner-up finish, has also excelled playing club soccer for the Tulsa-based Hurricane Futbol Club. She is the only player from Arkansas to play in the elite National League of U.S. Youth Soccer.

Risner is ranked as one of the top 20 keepers (2010 class) in the nation by the Olympic Development program. She chose Mississippi State after visiting Starkville, along with Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor and Alabama.

Bentonville coach Kris Henry said Risner is part of a talented senior class for the Lady Tigers.

“She has dedication, athletic ability, determination,” Henry said. “She really wants for the game.”

Risner will have company in the Division-I ranks as teammate April Miller has verbally committed to play for Southeast Missouri State, while Hannah Nilsson is still considering some offers.

Junior High Volleyball

Southwest def. George

Miranda Kelly had 11 service points and Arden Hall nine to lead Southwest to a 25-12, 25-18 win over George in Northwest Arkansas Conference play Tuesday.

Southwest improved to 13-2 overall and 5-2 in the league. Lucille Lanje led George (1-6, 1-10) with three aces and six assists, while Mariah King added three kills and one block.

Southwest (5-2) also won the eighth-grade match 27-25, 25-23. Sydney McConnell led Southwest with six service points and Sydney Breathitt added five. Lacey Davis led George with five kills, while Bri Long added four kills and three aces.

Central def. Rogers Elmwood

Setters Ashley Wiednehoeft and Haley McCarver helped lead Springdale Central to a 25-14, 25-12 win over Rogers Elmwood in Northwest Arkansas Conference play.

Central improved to 3-4 overall and in the league.

Central improved to 7-0 with a 25-20, 27-25 win in the eighth-grade match.

Payton Frisinger contributed three kills late in the match, while Kayla Bakker also had a strong night passing.

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Bentonville def. Springdale High

Danielle Betts finished with six kills as Bentonville claimed a 25-22, 25-14, 25-18 7A-West Conference win over Springdale High on Tuesday.

Rebecca Brown added nine assists and two block assists for the Lady Tigers (4-3, 4-0). Sara Hoover also added three aces.

— The Morning News

Fort Smith Southside def. Rogers Heritage

Carson Hunter had four kills to help the Confederettes slip past Heritage, 25-15, 25-12, 25-16.

The scrappy Lady War Eagles (5-12, 0-4) fought Southside (6-1, 3-1) point for point for much of the first game. Heritage was right there in the second game as well before a kill by Chelsea McKim jump-started a 16-3 run.

Springdale Har-Ber def. Fort Smith Northside

Springdale Har-Ber wasted little time in beating Fort Smith Northside 25-7, 25-17, 25-21.

The Lady Wildcats (7-1, 3-1) used a powerful service game to put pressure on the Lady Bears (5-5, 1-3), which caused Northside struggled to get the ball to its front row.

Leading 5-4 in the opening game, Har-Ber ran off 12 straight points to put the game out of reach quickly. Har-Ber’s Katie Huff started the run while Kailey Bain had three aces during it.

“We got what we came for,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones said of the conference win. “Our strategy all year has been to jump on them quickly. We serve hard at them so they don’t get a chance to set something up and that worked for us in the first two games.”

Northside was in control of the third game as it opened a 15-10 lead and later led 19-15. But that is when the Lady Wildcats started their comeback. Kellsie Pullen came up with a kill, Alicia Swearingen added an ace then Marisa Pless had a kill as Har-Ber trimmed the Lady Bears’ lead to 19-18.

Har-Ber eventually tied the game at 20 after a block but the Lady Wildcats scored the match’s last four points, 10 of the last 12, to seal the win. Pless and Huff had kills in the final points while Holly Huffman had a block.

— Southwest Times Record

GOLF

Springdale Har-Ber, Siloam Springs Split

Siloam Springs’ Don Voss fired a 2-over-par 38 to earn medalist honors and lead his team to a five-shot win over Springdale Har-Ber at Stonebridge Meadows Golf Club in Fayetteville.

Siloam finished with a 175, compared to 180 for Har-Ber in the play five, count four format.

Zach Coats led Har-Ber with a 39, followed by Will McDoniel’s 46, Antonio Guererro, 47, and Jordan Harrell, 48.

Taylor Kline fired a 45 to earn medalist in the girls’ match and lead Har-Ber’s win, 154-174.

Lauren Zulpo added a 52 and Kaitlyn Vogel chipped in with a 57 for the Lady Wildcats.

Har-Ber also won the boys’ junior varsity match 186-191. Ty Whatley led the Wildcats with a 41, while Mason McLaren added a 42.

Har-Ber takes on Bentonville today at Bella Vista Country Club.

— The Morning News