Viking duo finish sixth at state

By Becky Walz,

Representing the Decorah girls’ tennis program at the state individual and doubles tournament late last week were (l-r) Annalise Skrade, Evon Leitz and Haley Gossman. (submitted photo)

On Friday, May 26 three members of the Decorah girls tennis team traveled to Byrnes Park in Waterloo for the Class 1A Girls Individual State Tennis Tournament.
Evon Leitz, a junior, who had earned her ticket to state as a regional runner-up, represented Decorah in singles; and, Annalise Skrade and Haley Gossman, regional champions competed in doubles competition.
Leitz drew a tough first round match vs. the No. 2 seed of the tournament, Catherine Straus, of Spirit Lake.
“Evon played beautifully the entire match — it was rewarding to see her hit out on her groundstrokes and utilize angles to help her set up quality points. She and her opponent had long rallies, and it was fun to watch her play some of her best tennis all season,” said Head Coach Amanda Huinker.
Leitz ultimately fell to Straus 0-6, 0-6. The junior’s state run came to an end when she was defeated by Mary Rolfstad of Davenport Assumption 2-6, 2-6.
Third-seeded Skrade and Gossman dominated their first match against Jersie Nitchals and Kennedy Paul from Estherville, winning 6-1, 6-1. Unfortunately, the duo fell in round two to the Pella Christian team of Katy Roose and Sydney Van Arendonk, losing the first set 7-6 after a tie breaker and the second set 6-4. Moving into the consolation bracket, Skrade and Gossman ran away with the first set against Kendall and Kaitlyn Olson of Osage 6-0. The second set was tighter, but the duo came away with a victory of 6-4, and this secured their future as medalists.
Day two of the tournament began with a match against the No. 2 seed, Taylor Cole and Mason Hartley of Clarinda. The Viking duo defeated Clarinda’s team 6-3, 6-4. In the last match of the season, and their high school tennis careers, the Vikes fell to the No. 1 seed, Kate Holton and Avery Hogan from Waterloo Columbus, who had entered the consolation bracket after a surprising second round loss to the eventual state doubles champions, Ella Dilulio and Helen Sons from Davenport Assumption. Skrade and Gossman were ultimately defeated by Holton and Hogan (6-4, 6-4), earning sixth place.
“Annalise and Haley played the best doubles I’ve seen out of them all season in their two matches on Saturday — they were controlled and effective net players, great communicators, and smart executors out on the court,” said Coach Huinker.  “They put up an amazing fight against the Columbus team; the entire match was fun to witness with high-quality play on both sides of the net.”

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