New Prairie hosted its annual 8-team Boys Tennis Invitational on Saturday, welcoming Michigan City, John Glenn, Knox, Hobart, Kankakee Valley, LaLumiere, and Mishawaka to the courts. Kankakee Valley took home 1st place overall, while the Cougars finished 4th overall. New Prairie was led by Austin Bishop, who battled all day at #2 Singles and captured the #2 Singles Championship! Austin was playing up a position and came through with a strong performance against a competitive field. The Cougars had two other medalists on the day. Gabe Banicki and Manny Medina battled all day at #1 Doubles and finished 3rd place. With normal #1 Singles player Braden Bachmann competing at a Cross Country meet in Lafayette (and finishing in 2nd place!), the Cougars were playing up a position at each singles spot. Jon Woodham stepped in at #1 Singles and battled through a hard-fought opening match, eventually falling in a tiebreaker 9-10 (6-8). Jon bounced back in his second-round match with a win, putting New Prairie into the #1 Singles 5th-place match. Braden then subbed back into the final #1 Singles match after finishing his Cross Country meet and helped the Cougars secure a 5th-place finish at #1 Singles. At #3 Singles, JD Straup put together a strong showing and finished 4th place. In #2 Doubles, Ell McDonald and Riley Wilczynski opened the day with a tough first-round matchup against the eventual 3rd-place team from Hobart. Grayson Goodman and Joey Smith then stepped in and won their next two matches, securing a 5th-place finish at #2 Doubles. It was a great day of competition for the Cougars, and we’re proud of the way everyone battled through the tournament! The Cougars are back in action Tuesday at home against conference opponent John Adams. Match time is 4:30 PM.