Tiger girls win 2010 MBC tennis tournament title
A brand new trophy was the reward for New Richmond girls tennis team winning its fourth straight Middle Border Conference championship. The Tigers ran away with the conference tournament title last Tuesday, winning five of the seven flights on their home courts.By: Dave Newman, New Richmond News
- Tennis champions
A brand new trophy was the reward for New Richmond girls tennis team winning its fourth straight Middle Border Conference championship.
The Tigers ran away with the conference tournament title last Tuesday, winning five of the seven flights on their home courts.
Singles was the sole domain of the Tiger girls, sweeping the four singles flights. The Tigers were also able to win one of the championships among the doubles flights.
The championships were led by the title taken by senior Chelsea Anderson at one singles. It is the fourth straight championship won by Anderson. To make her feat even more incredible, she has never lost a conference match in her four years on the varsity. She and Jenny Hudalla won three doubles titles in their freshman and sophomore years. Last year, Anderson won the two singles title. This year, she moved up to one singles and continued her winning ways.
While Anderson is one of the smallest players in the Tiger lineup, she is still one of the team’s hardest servers. Tiger coach Denise Devereux said Anderson’s biggest asset is her competitive drive.
“Deep down, when there is something on the line, she gets very fired up,” Devereux said.
It’s hard to argue with the depth the Tigers have at the top of the singles lineup. Senior Meghan Frank played one singles last year and won the conference title. This year she was the champion at two singles. As a sophomore she was the MBC champion at four singles.
Devereux said Frank might be the Tiger who has the best opportunity to make a charge deep into the WIAA tournaments.
“She can match anyone’s power. She’s learned a defense to go with her offensive side,” Devereux said.
Maggie Earley won her conference title by avenging the only loss she had in conference dual meet action. She was beaten by Unity’s Julie Franzel in the dual, but this time Earley had the last word. It took three sets, but Earley was able to finish with a flurry to win 6-2.
The most dominating performance of the tournament may have been that shown by Tiger junior Hailey Davis at four singles. Davis has bloomed this season, becoming a quick, forceful player. She lost only two games in her three matches in the conference tournament.
“Hailey has really worked at understanding the game,” Devereux said. “She thinks through her points more than most of the girls and she’s probably got the best footwork out there.”
The championship by Kukacka and Anderson at two doubles upset Baldwin-Woodville’s hopes of sweeping the conference doubles titles. B-W moved its top two singles players to doubles. The Blackhawks then bumped their one doubles team down a flight. Kukacka and Anderson thoroughly handled the former B-W one doubles team, winning 6-0, 6-2 in the title match.
“That was the best I’ve seen Amy and Kaycie play,” Devereux said.
The B-W team that was moved to doubles knocked off New Richmond’s one doubles team. The Tigers did avenge their only loss in the conference duals, beating Unity in the tournament semifinals. Hudalla and Alina Stai looked driven in the 6-2, 6-2 win.
They could regain that fire against B-W, losing 6-2, 6-2.
The three doubles team of Heather Halvorsen and Mattie Kidder clearly outplayed Amery and Ellsworth in the opening rounds of the tournament. In the finals they put up a good fight, but lost to B-W 6-4, 7-6. This was the B-W team that had played at two doubles when the two teams met in the dual match.
2010 Middle Border Conference Girls Tennis Tournament
Team Scores: New Richmond 38, Baldwin-Woodville 20, Osceola 16, Unity-Luck 12, Durand 10, Mondovi 4, Amery 3, Ellsworth 2
New Richmond matches
Singles
No. 1: Chelsea Anderson def. Tiffany Weiss (E) 6-2, 6-1; def. Anna Ebensperger (U/L) 6-1, 6-1; def. Annie Guenthner (0) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2: Meghan Frank def. Laura Doornink (B-W) 6-2, 6-2; def. Elizabeth Thuerkoff (U/L) 6-1, 6-4; def. Abby Schuh (D) 6-0, 6-2
No. 3: Maggie Earley def. Allysha Stocks (M) 6-0, 6-2; def. Jenna Johnson (D) 6-3, 6-2; def. Julie Franzel (U/L) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4: Hailey Davis (NR) def. Brooke Hines (E) 6-0, 6-0; def. McKenzie Anderson (D) 6-0, 6-1; def. Tori Klingler (B-W) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1: Jenny Hudalla and Alina Stai def. Marissa Haglund and Ellie Brantner (D) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 10-4; def. Jessica Kutina and Katherine Ebensperger (U/L) 6-2, 6-2; lost to Haylie Noha and Katie Thompson (B-W) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2: Amy Kukacka and Kaycie Anderson def. Bethany Olson and Stacie Peterson (E) 6-1, 6-2; def. Mara Nedlund and Chelsey Christ (M) 6-1, 6-1; def. Danielle Mundt and Abby Gadbois (B-W) 6-0, 6-2
No. 3: Mattie Kidder and Heather Halvorsen def. Shawna Henke and Anna Peterson (A) 6-0, 6-0; def. Katie Kurrelmeyer and Jordyn Olson (E) 6-0, 6-1; lost to Jaleena Timmers and Mallory Custer (B-W) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Tags: sports, tigers, tennis, prep
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