By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

The Hays High School girls' tennis team lost its top five players off last year's squad and returns just one athlete that saw varsity action in 2007. The Indians have one senior and 12 freshmen on the 20-player roster.

It's the freshmen, though, that have carried the program through the season's first two meets. HHS opened at Cimarron last Thursday and played in the Hays High Invitational on Tuesday.

"The amount of talent that we have in our underclassmen is amazing," HHS coach Chris Channell said. "They have got a lot of potential."

The No. 2 doubles team of freshmen Paige Lunsford and Hannah Pfannenstiel, two girls that excel in other sports but had never played tennis before this fall, finished second Thursday. They were the top Indian team on two squads that competed at Hays High School and the City Courts.

"That was probably the highlight of the day," Channell said. "I think those two girls have a great future in front of them -- in a lot of sports."

Victoria senior Kasandra Huser, runner-up last year at Hays, won the singles title.

A four-year player for the Knights, Huser reached sub-state in 2007 and has captured several tournaments.

"Everything has just really improved a lot. I can't pick out just one thing that has gotten a lot better," she said.

She led a Victoria squad that had a first, two seconds and a fifth-place finish.

Huser used an effective forehand and two-handed backhand to win the championship 7-5 over Colby sophomore Kayla Hockersmith.

"I just kept returning the balls and didn't mess up," she said.

She won several long points, including a rally at 30-30 in the set's eighth game that led to a service break. Huser doesn't hit the ball extremely hard but keeps the ball in play.

"She is consistent to the point where she can either put away a winner or the opponent makes a mistake," Channell said. "That is probably why she was the last match on the court last year and the last match on the court tonight. She is very deliberate and consistent and that is part of the game -- not making mistakes and being consistent yourself."

The Indians line up their top squad with junior Anne Banister at No. 1 singles and sophomore Whitney Hickert at No. 2 doubles. Bannister went 0-3 at Cimarron and is a work in progress. Bannister won 7-1 Thursday over HHS senior Bobbi Ehrlich.

"Singles is probably really where we needed to work on," Channell said. "We have girls that can hit the ball fairly well, but lack consistency in getting themselves positioning on the court. They didn't quite get to where they needed to be to get the ball on a consistent stroke."

Hickert is in her first year of playing. Thursday, she played teammate Sarah Weisner, a junior, and won 7-5.

"She hits the ball pretty well," Channell said. "She could strike the ball harder, but she hits the ball pretty well. That has got her playing where she is. She is consistent. She gets the ball back in. She doesn't get a whole of winners, but she makes the other players make mistakes."

The No. 1 doubles team, which finished 1-2 Thursday, is juniors Jayme Hansen and Renee Kippes. They won their first match 7-5 and then lost to Victoria and Russell.

"They had kind of a rough day," Channell said.

Pfannenstiel, a track standout, and Lunsford, a talented basketball and softball player, have played well in their first tennis action. At Cimarron last Thursday, they lost their first game and then reeled off six straight games to win 6-1.

"Doubles can be a lot more tricky than singles because of court coverage and hitting and stuff," Channell said. "It was amazing that they played that well. They have a real bright future once they figure out how to really play the game and how to hit the ball in different ways."

Next, they played a strong team from Tribune-Greeley County and trailed 4-1.

Pfannenstiel and Lunsford, though, battled back and lost 7-5.

"I don't think (Greeley County) gave up more than three total games, other than the five they gave up to us, in the rest of the tournament," Channell said.

They eventually finished third, tied with the best finish on the team with Hansen and Kippes. Hickert finished fourth.

Next, the Indians will have their first big test of the season Tuesday at Great Bend.

"It just gets harder from here on out," Channell said.

The meet, which starts at 3 p.m., features Western Athletic Conference rivals Great Bend and Dodge City.

"We have a young squad and I look forward to seeing how they play in a couple years when we have our talent up to the experience level that (other teams') girls are playing at," Channell said.