Tiger girls tennis wins three matches in home quad meet
The new 10-court format for tennis at New Richmond High School proved to be a hit in the first multi-team event hosted by the Tigers.By: Dave Newman, New Richmond News
- Meghan Frank
- Mattie Kidder
The new 10-court format for tennis at New Richmond High School proved to be a hit in the first multi-team event hosted by the Tigers.
On Saturday the Tigers hosted a quad meet, with River Falls, Altoona and Rice Lake visiting. The extra courts made a big difference. Instead of lasting until dark, the meet was wrapped up by 4:30 p.m.
Making it an even happier occasion was the fact that the Tigers won all three of their matches in the tournament.
The Tigers won close matches with River Falls and Altoona before finishing with a 6-1 capper over Rice Lake.
The Tigers knew they’d have their hands full in the first two matches. The meet was run in two simultaneous duals, with each match getting five courts. When the first five matches between the Tigers and River Falls were done, the Wildcats led 3-2.
Left to play were the ones. New Richmond’s one doubles team of Jenny Hudalla and Alina Stai tied the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win. That meant the final decision was in the hands of the one singles players. New Richmond’s Chelsea Anderson dropped the first set at one singles to Sam Langer. Anderson came back to take the second set 6-1, before winning the third set super tie-breaker 10-8.
Tiger coach Denise Devereux credited Anderson with keeping her focus after dropping the first set.
“She really came out and played her game in the second set,” Devereux said.
The Tigers then faced Altoona, a team that had beaten them 4-3 earlier this season. The teams won the same matches as the first go-around, except for three doubles. New Richmond’s Heather Halvorsen and Mattie Kidder scored a 6-1, 6-4 win to turn the team victory in the Tigers’ favor.
The day finished with the Tigers winning 6-1 over Rice Lake. In all six of the Tigers’ wins they did not lose a set.
Devereux said the quad meet was a good rehearsal for next week when the Tigers host the Middle Border Conference and WIAA Division 1 subsectional tournaments. In those meets, some of the early matches will be played at the old high school courts, to assure that the meets get done in a more timely manner.
Dual win
The Tigers added another conference win last Thursday when they scored a 5-2 win at Unity.
One of the Tiger losses was a bit of a shocker. Hudalla and Stai were beaten in the one doubles match. This has historic consequences, because Hudalla was trying to complete her four seasons without having lost a conference match.
Devereux said Unity’s girls were constantly hitting lob shots, which frustrated the Tiger seniors. The Tigers were able to hit a large number of overhead shots, but because they were putting those shots to the center of the court, Unity was able to return most of them.
Devereux said the entire team needs to improve hitting their overhead shots at angles where opponents can’t return them.
Schedule
The Tigers play their final conference dual match this Thursday, at home against Amery.
Next Tuesday the Tigers will be hosts to the annual Middle Border Conference tournament.
New Richmond 5, Unity 2
Singles
No. 1: Chelsea Anderson (NR) def. Anna Ebensperger 6-2, 6-4
No. 2: Meghan Frank (NR) def. Elizabeth Thierkoff 6-2, 6-1
No. 3: Julie Franzel (U) def. Maggie Earley 7-5, 6-3
No. 4: Hailey Davis (NR) def. Catherine Zahler 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1: Katherine Ebensperger and Jessie Kutina (U) def. Jenny Hudalla and Alina Stai 6-3, 6-3
No. 2: Amy Kukacka and Kaycie Anderson (NR) def. April Johnson and Kayla Johnson 6-0, 6-2
No. 3: Mattie Kidder and Heather Halvorsen (NR) def. Emily Petzel and Sierra Thomforda 6-0, 6-0
Tags: sports, tennis, tigers, prep
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