At the start of the girls high school tennis season, Austin High coach Levon Larson was concerned mainly about his doubles play.

Monday, September 18, 2000

At the start of the girls high school tennis season, Austin High coach Levon Larson was concerned mainly about his doubles play.

He’s found a sure pair of keepers in his number one doubles tandem of Chelsea McColley and Lindy Swedberg.

McColley and Swedberg had never played together as doubles partners before this season, but after 12 matches together, the pair is starting to click.

"A lot of (our success) is our attitude," McColley said. "We both have the same type of attitude. We both want to win and don’t give up.

"And we get along really well on and off the court."

Swedberg agrees that chemistry is the key.

"We balance each other off really well," she said. "We know each others strengths and weaknesses and are playing well together."

Larson said his top doubles team did some growing as a team at the Pat Lamb Invitational at Carleton College two Saturdays ago, where they faced more and better competition than they had in the dual meet season.

"Since then, they’ve looked more like a doubles team," Larson said. "They’re working together."

Packer volleyball

seeking killer instinct

The Austin Packers girls volleyball team has gotten off to a rough start in both Big Nine and non-conference play.

The Packers take a 2-7 overall record (0-2 in Big Nine play) into Tuesday night’s home match against Northfield.

The term coach Treasure Ransom continues to use is "killer instinct," as in the Packers still need to develop it.

The Packers play four of their next five matches at home, though, after playing only two of their first nine at the Packer gym.

There’s enough talented juniors and seniors on this Packer team that they should be able to turn the season around. The stretch of the next five matches will tell a lot about where this team is headed.

Blue-collar Packers

The Austin Packer football team is 2-1, and those victories haven’t come easy.

The Packers scored three times in the fourth quarter in a season-opening 27-7 win over Winona. AHS then blocked a punt which resulted in a safety against Mankato West in the Packers’ 8-7 win on Sept. 8.

Last Friday night, the Packers played as hard as they had the previous two weeks, but some uncharacteristic plays did them in.

Austin entered the game with a plus-8 turnover margin, then turned the ball over four times themselves in the 34-13 loss to Faribault.

The Packer defense also allowed two plays of more than 50 yards, and six plays of 20 yards or more to the Falcons.

But their first loss of the season was almost forgotten as soon as the game ended.

Several Packers were ready to hit the weight room early Saturday morning. Tight end Dan Smith summed up the team’s feelings.

"To lose at home is frustrating," the senior said, "but will put the loss behind us, come back and take it to Owatonna (Friday)."