By Becky Walz,
Having suffered their only dual meet loss of the season at home to Union early in the season, the Decorah girls’ tennis team got their revenge and defeated the Knights 6-3 on the road Thursday. The Vikings began their road to state with 5-0 wins over Osage and Aplington-Parkersburg Saturday.
Revenge win
Knowing that Union had a solid team with heavy hitters at the top of the line-up, Decorah placed their hopes of pulling off a win on the strength of their team. Every match of the meet was a battle even though the scores may not reflect just how tough they were. In the end, Decorah’s team effort won out with everyone on the team chipping in with at least one win.
Singles: No. 1 Annalise Skrade (Dec) defeated Alexa Weber (U) 6-8; No. 2 Cady Peterson (Dec) lost to Belle Weber 4-8; No. 3 Morgan Brauer (Dec) defeated Ellie Behrens (U) 8-0; No. 4 Mara Holland (Dec) defeated Madelon Rathe (U) 8-1; No. 5 Kristi Kjome-Johnson (Dec) defeated Sophia Winklepleck (U) 8-6; No. 6 Kendra Bigler (Dec) lost to M. Uchiyama-Hansen (U) 6-8
Doubles: No. 1 Peterson/Brauer (Dec) defeated A. Weber/B. Weber (U) 8-5; No. 2 Skrade/Holland (Dec) defeated Behrens/Winklepleck (U) 8-4; No. 3 Kjome-Peterson/Bigler defeated Rathe/Laura Rempe 8-6
Regional competition
In the fourth meeting this year, the Vikings faced Osage in the first round of regional play Saturday at the Luther College courts.
“Going in, the girls knew that if a team notches five match wins, they will advance to the second round. The girls wasted no time in delivering a solid win at all flights. Mara Holland playing the No. 4 spot had not finished her second set after winning the first one when play was suspended,” said Coach Berland.
The second-round match against Aplington-Parkersburg was between two teams that had not played each other for several years. Decorah took little time in making certain that their new guests knew they were in for some tough sledding if they had plans of advancing to the regional final match next Saturday to be held in Decorah.
“The A-P girls showed why they have good success throughout the year with spirited and athletic play. Once the Decorah girls found their opponent’s weaker shots, however, they fed that weakness with shot after shot. You could sense the frustration setting in with the A-P girls as they were not allowed to attack with their best shot. Playing defense wears you out and does not help the score of the match much either.
“This time, Kendra Bigler, playing in the No. 6 flight for Decorah did not quite finish her match before the Vikings logged five victories. The girls continue to improve and are playing their best tennis at just the right time it they want to continue to advance to the state tourney,” noted Coach Berland.
The regional final will feature a match-up between the Vikings and Dubuque Wahlert Saturday, May 22 at the high school courts at 9 a.m. But first, Decorah will host the regional individual tournament to determine who will represent our region at the state meet in June in singles and doubles. The event will take place at Luther College Wednesday, May 19 at 9 a.m.
Decorah versus Osage
No. 1 Annalise Skrade (Dec) defeated Victoria Schwarting (O) 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Cady Peterson (Dec) defeated Kaitlyn Olson (O) 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 Morgan Brauer (Dec) defeated Lauren Swenson (O) 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Mara Holland (Dec) did not finish versus Kendall Olson (O); No. 5 Kristi Kjome-Johnson (Dec) defeated Brooklyn Brock (O) 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Kendra Bigler (Dec) defeated Faith Nielsen (O) 6-1, 6-1
Decorah versus A-P
No. 1 Annalise Skrade (Dec) defeated Emalee Price (A-P) 6-3. 6-0; No. 2 Cady Peterson (Dec) defeated Bailee Alberts (A-P) 6-2. 6-2; No. 3 Morgan Brauer (Dec) defeated Kaitlin Cuvelier (A-P) 6-2, 6-2; No. 4 Mara Holland (Dec) defeated Maddie Krausman (A-P) 6-0, 6-0; No. 5 Kristi Kjome-Johnson (Dec) defeated Jada Eldenburger (A-P) 6-1, 6-0; No. 6 Kendra Bigler (Dec) did not finish versus Alexis Hoogestrant (A-P)
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.