By Becky Walz,
The Decorah girls’ tennis team was rewarded for traveling to Charles City on Monday as they came away with a sweet 9-0 victory. Tuesday, the Vikes were again victorious at Oelwein 9-0.
The Decorah girls’ tennis team was rewarded for traveling to Charles City on Monday as they came away with a sweet 9-0 victory. Tuesday, the Vikes were again victorious at Oelwein 9-0.
Comets shot down
Once again, the Viking lineup was a bit different than in previous battles, but it did not keep each player from turning in a solid performance.
Annalise Skrade led off the singles’ victories with an 8-2 win over Sophia Jensen at the No. 1 spot. At No. 2, Mara Holland was especially stingy in her singles and doubles matches by not allowing her opponents a single game. The senior defeated Liz Olson 8-0 in singles and teamed up with Skrade in doubles for another 8-0 win over Jensen and Hannah Deboer.
Kristi Kjome-Johnson bested Maggie Boss by an 8-1 set at the No. 3 spot. Allison Pavlovec secured an 8-2 victory at No. 4 over Rylee Deboes. At No. 5, Paige Lange defeated Jada Litterer 8-0, while Camryn Holland took down Abby Asink, 8-1.
At No. 2 doubles it was Kjome-Johnson and Lange securing the 8-1 victory over Olson and Boss.
Pavlovec and C. Holland found themselves entangled in a match in the No. 3 doubles match that was not decided until the very last point was secured in a tiebreaker, 9-8, over Hannah Hoffman and Deboes.
“Allison and Camryn started out hotter than a pistol, getting off to a 4-1 lead, only to see it vanish as their opponents found their game and came on like a couple of wounded tigers and took a lead at 6-5. Playing an eight game pro-set, they righted their ship and came back to tie up the set at 8-8. That is when the duo played some of their best tennis to bring home the victory by winning the tiebreaker. Having a chance to play them today will definitely benefit the girls next Monday when the teams will again meet in the conference tournament,” said Coach Larry Berland.
Caging the Huskies
Decorah continued its tour of northeast Iowa with a stop at Oelwein on Tuesday afternoon. With the skies finally sunny and a moderating air temperature, the girls’ energy level was way up, which led to an impressive 8-1 victory. Singles competition set the tone as all six Vikes won their matches.
Allison Pavlovec got the ball rolling when she did not allow Laney Smith a single game in two sets in the No. 2 spot. At No. 6, Leah Holland, playing in her first varsity match, handled any jitters she might have had going in with solid groundstrokes and the ability to track down balls on the court to defeat Molly Trumblee in a pair of 6-1 sets.
No. 5 Jenna Hartz once again faced Natalie Albrecht, the same opponent that she had played the first time around in Decorah.
“Earlier in the season, Jenna struggled a bit with her control which ended up making the match a close one. Not so the second time around as she was on a mission to be the attacker from the beginning of the match. Jenna’s shots had super direction which set up many easy points,” noted Coach Larry Berland.
Evon Leitz was thrust into the top singles spot in the lineup and took no time in proving that she belonged at that number one spot with Oelwein’s Kaylie Stewart. She took the match 6-1 and 6-3.
“Evon played a very steady opponent that kept the ball coming back. That did not bother Evon for a second as she returned the ball over and over again until an opening appeared on the opponent’s side of the net. That was all it wrote for that point as she hit that open spot with precision accuracy,” said Coach Berland.
“In doubles, Evon teamed up with Haley Gossman. The No. 1 duo was everywhere on the court, whether hitting a put-away volley or chasing down an angled shot. They made for an exciting twosome because their opponents never knew for sure where they were going to turn up on the court. That strategy led to many put away volleys for winners and kept the spectators on the edge of their seats,” said the coach.
Camryn Holland continues to gain experience and with it, confidence in her abilities and came away with 6-2 and 6-0 set victories over Dani Gerstenberger in the No. 4 slot.
“At the beginning of the year, Camryn would react to her opponents’ shots while playing defense almost exclusively. Now she is able to put together a game plan to target her opponents’ weaknesses early in the match.
“No. 3 Gossman moves around the court so much it is difficult to keep up with her while watching but even more of a struggle if trying to play her on the court. Haley is very athletic and uses that gift to full scale while finding a way to take the game away from her opponent.
“In doubles, Leah Holland and Jaidyn Duvel teamed up as first year tennis players at No. 3. Both girls have made solid improvement to this point in the season and deserved a look against competition. Taking on Oelwein’s best doubles team, they were able to keep things close throughout the match. They both have a big upside if they take it upon themselves to move to the next level.”
Bring on May
Monday, May 2, the Vikings host the North Central Tennis Conference meet at Luther College.
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