Iola High School Principal Scott Carson admitted afterward he bit off more than he could chew.
In watching a recent Iola High School tennis practice, Carson offered a challenge to Iola’s top tennis duo, sisters Sidney and Miah Shelby.
Watching the sisters’ powerful groundstrokes, he thought he’d like to see what it was like on the other side of the net.
So he found the first volunteer he could find — in this case, Assistant Principal Matt Baumwart — and challenged the Shelby sisters to a light-hearted match.
“It was brutal,” a chagrined Carson said. “Those shots were coming at us pretty fast.”
As IHS head tennis coach Chris Belknap noted, “the shots were impressive on both sides, but only the Shelbys’ mattered.”
The sisters cruised to a 6-3 win over Iola administrators.
Carson graciously accepted defeat. He also appreciated Baumwart’s willingness to join the match at short notice.
“I was at the door doing temperature checks when they told me I was playing,” said Baumwart, who formerly taught physical education, and knew a thing or two about tennis.
Carson also noted learning a valuable lesson about issuing a challenge to a duo as competitive as the Shelbys.
“I shouldn’t have run my mouth like that,” he said.
ALAS, the Fillies tennis team had a tougher go of it Thursday at a meet in Pittsburg.
The Shelbys played in No. 1 doubles and lost three hard-fought matches, as did Jessica Tidd in No. 1 singles. Keira Fawson took fourth overall in No. 2 singles play, going 1-2 on the day.
