Card girls tennis: Win over Willmar puts Alexandria in second place

• Sater, Wilkins

Miranda Sater and Kim Wilkins are unbeaten this season at their doubles spot for the Cardinals. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

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With a 6-1 win over Willmar Tuesday night, the Cardinal girls’ tennis team propelled themselves into second place in the Central Lakes Conference behind unbeaten St. Cloud Tech.

Both Willmar and Alexandria were 4-1 heading into the match, but Alexandria used straight sets at winning positions to take the victory.

“Alex took a big step toward their goal of winning a CLC title last night,” said head coach Dave Ronning. “Willmar has a very good team with a solid singles lineup, but our girls were ready and came out firing.

“Rebecca [Lukes] set the tone at first singles as she would not give up a single game in her match.

“Ellie [Bergstrand] was not far behind as she won, giving up just three games,” he added. “Carly [Snell] had to work a bit harder when she found herself down in the first set 1-4, only to come back to win the set in a breaker and then went on to win the second set 6-0.

“Bria [Schueler] suffered her second loss in as many nights as her opponent just refused to make any mistakes.”

The Cardinals won three of the four singles matches, then swept through the doubles matches.

“I was especially happy with our doubles teams as we got the sweep,” said Ronning. “Jessica [Larson] and Jenna [Hedstrom] played one of their better matches of the season.

“Rachel [Sjostrand] and Marissa [Wheeler] were in complete control at second doubles, as were Kim [Wilkins] and Miranda [Sater] at third doubles.

“Miranda and Kim are still unbeaten on the season, and continue to get better and better with each match,” said their coach.

“We are now on a nine-game winning streak and all the way through, the girls have worked hard to improve and expand their games. This is a special group of girls and they are doing some very special things this season.”

Alexandria improved to 15-1 overall and 6-1 in conference action.

They will host St. Cloud Tech on Tuesday.

ALEXANDRIA 6,

WILLMAR 1

SINGLES

No. 1 – Rebecca Lukes, Alex, def. Cabie Bierbaum 6-0, 6-0, No. 2 – Ellie Bergstrand, Alex, def. Cayle Hovland 6-1, 6-2, No. 3 – Carly Snell, Alex, def. Bailey Hovland 7-6 (4), 6-0, No. 4 – Hanna Hansen, Wil, def. Bria Schueler 6-1, 6-1.

DOUBLES

No. 1 – Jessica Larson-Jenna Hedstrom, Alex, def. Heather Horning-Kassy Limbo 6-3, 6-3, No. 2 – Rachel Sjostrand-Marissa Wheeler, Alex, def. Waverly Slette-Lea Ramon 6-1, 6-3, No. 3 – Kim Wilkins-Miranda Sater, Alex, def. Tayha Vollan-Megan Andersen 6-0, 6-2.

ALEXANDRIA 5, MOORHEAD 2

The Alexandria tennis team traveled to Moorhead for the first time in 12 years and came home with a 5-2 win over the Spuds on Monday night.

The Cardinals piled up their 14th win behind another balanced effort throughout both lineups. Alexandria took three of the four spots in singles play as Rebecca Lukes, Ellie Bergstrand and Carly Snell won in the top three spots, respectively. The only loss came in a tight two sets as Bria Schueler suffered her first loss of the season at fourth singles in a 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 match against Brianna Storms.

Alexandria made sure that didn’t factor in the outcome as the Cardinals added two more wins in the doubles lineup. Rachel Sjostrand and Marissa Wheeler won 6-3 in the first set at second doubles before rolling to a 6-0 win to put the match away in two. Kim Wilkins and Miranda Sater then kept their unbeaten streak alive as they made it look easy in a 6-2, 6-0 win at third doubles.

“Moorhead made us work for what we got,” head coach Dave Ronning said. “And I believe they helped make us a better team in the process.”

MATCH RESULTS

Alexandria 5, Moorhead 2

SINGLES – No. 1 – Lukes (A) def. Jessica Glatt, 6-1, 7-6 (7); No. 2 – Bergstrand (A) def. Ana Steinwand, 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 – Snell (A) def. Mallori Smith, 6-4, 6-2; No. 4 – Brianna Storms (M) def. Schueler, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0

DOUBLES – No. 1 – Jordan Slaughter/Katie Trugg (M) def. Jenna Hedstrom/Jessica Larson, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; No. 2 – Sjostrand/Wheeler (A) def. Hannah Hagen/Brianna Corneiliusen, 6-3, 6-0; No. 3 – Wilkins/Sater (A) def. Emma Bjerke/Maddie Misehller, 6-2, 6-0

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, tennis