Card girls' tennis: Alexandria sweeps the competition at its own invitational
Three solid victories boost the Cardinals to 11-1 overall this season as they added a win over St. Cloud ApolloBy: Lori Mork, Alexandria Echo Press
- Snell
More...
Saturday’s invitational was very good to the Cardinal girls’ tennis team as they ran away from the competition for three wins.
“It was an extremely windy day with winds up over 30 mph,” said head coach Dave Ronning. “The girls started the day with a 6-1 win over previously unbeaten Sauk Centre.”
Alexandria picked up the win by sweeping the doubles lineup and winning at third and fourth singles.
“Sauk Centre is a very young and talented team, and our girls had to work hard for this victory, winning three of the spots in third set tiebreakers,” said Ronning. “Ellie Bergstrand suffered her first loss of the season to Bethany Ellis, a hard hitting second singles player who just did not make many mistakes en route to her win.”
Carly Snell added a come from behind win at third singles, while the first doubles team of Rachel Sjostrand and Jessica Hedstrom, along with third doubles Kim Wilkin and Miranda Sater had to go to third set tiebreakers.
“Kim and Miranda had a moment where it looked like their unbeaten season together was going to come to an end, but they buckled down and played well in the breaker to overcome,” said Ronning.
Alexandria had to face Crookston in its second match of the day, winning 6-1.
“Crookston was the match we had our sights set on as they are a common opponent in the north sub section,” noted the coach. “Our girls swept the singles lineup and got two of the doubles spots to claim the 6-1 win.
“Rebecca, Ellie and Bria all cruised in singles and Carly had to put in some overtime in her match, coming from behind once again to win in a third set breaker.
“We made some changes in our doubles lineup moving Jessica and Jenna over to first doubles, and Marissa and Rachel to second doubles,” he added. “Jessica and Jenna fought hard but lost to a very good doubles team from Crookston and Marissa and Rachel won a nail biter with the second set going to a breaker. Kim and Miranda also had a close first set where they pulled it out in a breaker and then cruised in the second set, winning 6-1.”
Holy Family Catholic was the final match of the day for Alexandria and the Cardinals came away with a 5-2 win.
“Our girls swept the doubles lineup and got two of the singles spots for the 5-2 win,” Ronning said. “Holy Family came out firing and got wins at first and third singles and took an early 2-1 lead as Kim and Miranda won their match at third doubles.
“Bria Schueler followed with a straight set win at fourth singles and the match was knotted up at two. Rachel and Marissa came through with a nice win at second doubles, and Ellie at second singles and Jessica and Jenna at first doubles were still playing.
“We knew we needed one of the two spots to secure the win,” Ronning continued. “Our girls were not going to be denied, and went out and played some very good tennis with great determination and both came off the courts with victories.
“We are so proud of the way our girls are competing this season, and all the hard work they are putting into getting better every day is paying off in many ways.”
Alexandria is now 11-1 on the season. The team will be at Sartell tomorrow, Thursday.
ALEXANDRIA 6,
SAUK CENTRE 1
SINGLES
No. 1 – Rebecca Lukes (A) def. Mariah Rieland (SC) 6-2, 6-1, No. 2 – Bethany Ellis (SC) def. Ellie Bergstrand (A) 6-4, 6-2, No. 3 – Carly Snell (A) def. Kathryn Macey (SC) 4-6, 6-4,(7-5), No. 4 – Bria Schueler (A) def. Morgan Kranz (SC) 6-1, 7-5.
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Rachel Sjostrand-Jessica Larson (A) def. Callie Rodenbiker-Jessica Rodenbiker (SC) 4-6, 6-3, (7-3), No. 2 – Marissa Wheeler-Jenna Hedstrom (A) def. Sophia Rick-Molly Weyer (SC) 6-1, 6-3, No. 3 – Kim Wilkins-Miranda Sater (A) def. Katie Winters-Nicole Meyer (SC) 6-1, 2-6, (7-4).
ALEXANDRIA 6,
CROOKSTON 1
SINGLES
No. 1 - Rebecca Lukes (A) def. Amber Trostad (C) 6-1, 6-2, No. 2 – Ellie Bergstrand (A) def. Kennedy Resendez (C) 6-2, 6-3, No. 3 – Carly Snell (A) def. Alli Tiedemann (C) 6-7(2), 7-5, (10-8), No. 4 – Bria Schueler (A) def. Allisa Fee (C) 6-1, 6-1.
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Lilli Pennison-Leah Trosted (C) def. Jessica Larson- Jenna Hedstrom (A) 6-3, 6-3, No. 2 – Rachel Sjostrand-Marissa Wheeler (A) def. Kylie Simmons-Liz Awender (C) 6-4, 7-6(5). No. 3 – Kim Wilkins-Miranda Sater (A) def. Haley Micki- Shelby Lintwed (C) 7-6(5), 6-1.
ALEXANDRIA 5, HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC 2
SINGLES
No. 1 – Danielle Gannon (HF) def. Rebecca Lukes (A) 6-1, 6-3, No. 2 – Ellie Bergstrand (A) def. Grace Sperv (HF) 6-0, 6-0, No. 3 – Gabby Carter (HF) def. Carly Snell (A) 6-0, 6-4, No. 4 - Bria Schueler (A) def. Sophie Lynch (HF) 6-1, 6-0.
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Jessica Larson-Jenna Hedstrom (A) def. Libby Moakley-Aaron Dakice (HF) 6-1, 6-3, No. 2 – Rachel Sjostrand-Marissa Wheeler (A) def. Jesse Minden-Katie Moakley (HF) 6-2, 6-0, No. 3 – Kim Wilkins-Miranda Sater (A) def. Kayla Lynch-Aubrey Marshell (HF) 6-1, 6-0.
CARDS BLANK APOLLO
The Alexandria tennis team made easy work of St. Cloud Apollo last Thursday night in a 7-0 win that moved the Cardinals to 8-1 overall.
Alexandria moved some players around in the lineup with Jessica Larson going to first doubles with Rachel Sjostrand, while Marissa Wheeler went over to second doubles with Jenna Hedstrom. Both doubles duos earned 6-1, 6-2 victories over their opponents.
“As a team, we want to continue to strive to get better so we have decided to work with some different lineups to see if we can find a recipe that makes us as strong as we can be at every spot,” head coach Dave Ronning said. “The girls are very versatile and are willing to make some adjustments to see if it pays off in the long run.”
Kim Wilkins and Miranda Sater continued to pile up wins together at third doubles. They gave up just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 win over Chelsie Yoffrer and Bobbi Milner.
The singles lineup was equally as dominant. Rebecca Lukes won 6-0, 6-0 at the first spot, while Ellie Bergstrand, Carly Snell and Bria Schueler combined to drop just five games in clean sweeps through the rest of the lineup.
MATCH RESULTS
Alexandria 7,
St. Cloud Apollo 0
SINGLES – No. 1 – Lukes (A) def. Katie Ford, 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 – Bergstrand (A) def. Megan Brennan, 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 – Snell (A) def. Beauty Flowers, 6-2, 6-1; No. 4 – Schueler (A) def. Kyra Bezeeuw, 6-0, 6-1
DOUBLES – No. 1 – Larson/Sjostrand (A) def. Ashley Greyerson/Remi Deyak, 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 – Wheeler/Hedstorm (A) def. Autumn Thiel/Shalen Meuson, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 – Wilkins/Sater (A) def. Chelsie Yoffrer/Bobbi Milner, 6-0, 6-1
Lori Mork
Lori Mork is the Sports Editor for the Echo Press, taking over that position in 2007 after serving as Assistant Sports Editor since 1996. Mork spent the previous 18 years working at the Pope County Tribune in Glenwood where she served as the Sports Editor as well as a graphic designer and member of the production department. She spends her free time with her husband, Bob, and their pets, enjoying rural life on Lake Reno. Follow Sports Editor Lori Mork on Twitter at @morkwriter.Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, tennis
More from around the web
RSS Feeds