Card girls' tennis: Season ends for Alexandria in 8AA individuals

• Larson

Eric Morken, Echo Press Jessica Larson, who partnered with Brittany Holm during the Section 8AA individual tennis tournament last weekend, saw the season come to an end as they won their first two matches of the competition before falling to a St. Cloud Tech duo to finish fourth.

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Kristen Schmidt and Ellie Bergstrand paced the Alexandria tennis players at the Section 8AA individual tournament with a fourth-place finish this past weekend.

The Cardinal duo had a chance to play their way to the state tournament in the third-place match. They faced off against Nichole Gervenak and Megan Hintz of Brainerd as the Warriors’ second doubles team had too much in a 6-3, 6-3 match.

The top-four finish for Schmidt and Bergstrand capped off a weekend that saw five of the six Alexandria participants advance out of the subsection. Tyra Quitmeyer won her first-round match by default before running into the North’s No. 2 seed in Bemidji’s Jessica Solberg. Solberg showed why she is one of the top players in the Lumberjacks’ lineup with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

“I felt that this was one of Tyra’s best matches in her high school career as she battled hard all the way through the match,” Cardinals’ head coach Dave Ronning said. “Tyra had several opportunities to take leads, but the Bemidji girl was very tough and made Tyra work for everything.”

Rebecca Lukes came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the North and played up to that ranking. She dominated her first two subsection opponents to advance to sections. Lukes beat Ashley Wood of Moorhead in the first round 6-2, 6-2 before taking down Jamie Jenks of Little Falls 6-1, 6-0.

Lukes carried that momentum into the first set of her match against St. Cloud Tech’s Kristen Wurm. The Alexandria junior won that first set 5-7 and led 4-1 in the second. That’s when Wurm made her charge as she went on to win the next five games before earning the 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win.

“It was very disappointing for Rebecca,” Ronning said. “But I am still very proud of the way she battled to the very end.”

Brittany Holm and Jessica Larson also made it to the section portion of the tournament in doubles. They ran into another familiar opponent from St. Cloud Tech once they got there as the Tigers’ Lexi Portz and Jill Kedrowski ended their run 6-4, 6-1.

Holm and Larson knocked off the fourth-seeded duo from Thief River Falls to reach the sections. They took down Kaylee Koop and Sabrina Okeson in straight sets after needing three to advance past Kylie Jensen and Anna Buck of Fergus Falls in the opening round.

8AA INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT

SINGLES – Rebecca Lukes (A) def. Ashley Wood (Moor), 6-2, 6-2; Lukes (A) def. Jamie Jenks (LF), 6-1, 6-0; Kristen Wurm (SCT) Lukes, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

Tyra Quitmeyer (A) won by default over Paige Lofberg (TRF); Jessica Solberg (Bem) def. Quitmeyer, 6-3, 6-3

DOUBLES – Kristen Schmidt/Ellie Bergstrand (A) def. Hooly Kampa/Kristen Huck (LF), 6-1, 6-3; Schmidt/Bergstrand (A) def. Carly Ouren/Sarah Bowman (FF), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Schmidt/Bergstrand (A) def. Tish Jude/Mo Sawatzke (Monticello), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Lexi Portz/Jill Kedrowski (Tech) def. Schmidt/Bergstrand, 6-3, 6-2; Nichole Gervenak/Megan Hintz (Brainerd) def. Schmidt/Bergstrand, 6-3, 6-3

Brittany Holm/Jessica Larson (A) def. Kylie Jensen/Anna Buck, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Holm/Larson (A) def. Kaylee Koop/Sabrina Okeson (TRF), 6-4, 7-6 (3); Lexi Portz/Jill Kedrowski (Tech) def. Holm/Larson, 6-4, 6-1

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, tennis, section, 8aa