PHOTO BY KENNETH PEISER Lampasas junior varsity tennis player Nichole Queen poses with her medal after winning the consolation championship at the Killeen tournament. The Lampasas junior varsity tennis team learned a few things during its season-finale in Georgetown last week.

Now, it’s up to the players to build on the experience during the offseason.

In just their second tournament of the year, the Badgers and Lady Badgers picked up some valuable lessons after suffering a number of defeats during the road trip.

“The players did learn that they need to be more aggressive and work on their serves,” head coach Kenneth Peiser said. “We lost a lot of matches by missing shots and not even giving the other team a chance to mess up.”

The junior varsity and varsity players return to the courts in early January to begin the spring season.

Only the top six boys and girls traveled to the 22-team Georgetown tournament conducted at four sites.

Kenneth McGuire picked up an early victory but fell in his second match.

“He [had] more pace on his shots and was playing a little more aggressive,” Peiser said of the freshman.

Jonah Cantu lost both of his matches, and Nichole Queen won her first match but suffered a second-round loss to the top seed from the host school.

In doubles action, Michael Harris/Jeremy Cantu lost their first match, won their second and then fell in a closely contested third match. Bradley Poston/Levi Lopez experienced the same fate, sandwiching a win between a pair of losses.

The girls’ double duo of Cheyenne Morrow and Becca Northrup lost both of their matches, but Aimee Aviles-Ponce and Caitlyn Yates advanced to the quarterfinals with two victories before being eliminated.

A week earlier, at the Killeen tournament, Lampasas played at three different sites, and Queen was the top performer, going five matches deep to earn the consolation championship.

“She is very consistent and had a good day of playing,” Peiser said.

Aviles-Ponce also made it to the consolation finals, but lost.

Cantu was en route to playing in the finals of the boys’ consolation bracket, but the tournament was cut short after the mass shooting at Fort Hood forced area campuses to lock down.

In other singles play, Alexis Henry lost her first match, won her second and then lost her third match. McGuire followed the same path with a loss, a win and a loss.

Lopez fell in both of his sets.

The team of Morrow/Northrup won their opener but were eliminated in their second match. Yates and Madison Henniger fell in the first match, but bounced back to win the second before losing the third.

The boys’ teams of Cantu/Harris and Poston/Kevan Robertson each won and lost a match during their stay in Killeen.