New Richmond tennis season ends at sectional tournament

• Mattie Kidder

Sophomore Mattie Kidder emerged as a strong all-around player for the Tigers this season, especially at the net where her long reach was an asset.

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The three New Richmond girls who advanced to the WIAA Division 1 tennis sectionals on Monday gave their best efforts, but they fell short in their attempts to qualify for the 2011 WIAA State Tennis Championships.

New Richmond’s number one doubles team of Amy Kukacka and Mattie Kidder and number one singles player Kaycie Anderson were defeated in their opening matches at the Stevens Point sectional tournament last Wednesday. A win in that opening round would have qualified them for the state tournament.

Both Tiger sectional entries had difficult draws. The doubles team opened the tournament against the top seed from the Wausau East subsectional, the Merrill team of Olivia Heitz and Elizabeth Smith. The Tigers had been seeded fifth in the Eau Claire Memorial subsectional.

In the first set on Wednesday, both teams looked like top seeds. The Tigers pushed the action, making a number of aggressive plays at the net. New Richmond had one set point, but couldn’t get the point they needed to finish off the win. Merrill fought back to earn the 7-5 win.

In the second set the Tigers were forced into a few more mistakes and Merrill won 6-1.

“The first set was the best set of tennis I’ve seen them play this year,” said Tiger coach Denise Devereux. “It was the most aggressive I’ve seen our girls. They didn’t show any nerves.”

Kukacka and Kidder finish the season with a 19-11 record. Merrill went on to defeat Eau Claire Memorial in the sectional semifinals, before falling to Hudson in the sectional championship match.

Anderson drew Megan Hayes of Marshfield in the opening round of one singles on Wednesday. Hayes was the second seed out of the Wausau East subsectional. Hayes relied on heavy hitting with a major top spin to earn points in her 6-2, 6-0 win over Anderson. Anderson finishes her junior season with a 22-8 record.

Devereux said it takes top level tennis talent to get through this sectional.

“A lot of these girls have been playing year-round, three or four times a week,” Devereux said.

The next time the Tigers will meet will be on Monday, Oct. 17, when they hold their team banquet.

Tags: sports, tigers, tennis, prep