Pine City girls tennis Head Coach Kristin Unverzagt gives us an overview on how the team did at the Hibbing tournament Saturday.
The Dragons did an outstanding job representing our team in Hibbing this past weekend. It was a great opportunity for our team to practice their mental toughness and grit. We had many close matches at each position and it was great to see the team elevate their game and rise to the challenge. The competition was strong as many teams were AA schools. Our team has been working really hard to build on their skills and confidence each time we step on the court.
As a team, we took first place among some strong competition (Hibbing, Duluth East, Stillwater, Rock Ridge (Eveleth/Virginia), Duluth Marshall, Cambridge-Isanti, and Grand Rapids-Greenway. We also had each individual position placed at each spot.
1st Singles Ella Sell: 1st Place
2nd Singles Addison Sell: Consolation Champ
3rd Singles Brooke Boland: 1st Place
4th Singles Lily Struss: 4th Place
1st Doubles Sophie Lahti/Allison Unverzagt: 1st Place
2nd Doubles Claire Emmons/Malia Mikyska: 1st Place
3rd Doubles Brenna Youngbauer/Lena Roubinek: 1st Place
Ella Sell came up with a huge win in the finals defeating Lydia Delich. Delich has been a ranked player for years with many state tournament appearances. This is Ella's time first beating her and it was a huge physical and mental victory for her. The last time they played each other was a battle at last year's state tournament.
Addison Sell battled hard with a tough first round draw taking her opponent to a tie breaker. Despite the first round loss, she stayed mentally tough to finish the day strong and dictate the matches against the final two round opponents.
Brooke Boland used consistency as her strength with her smart shot selection and ball placement.
Lily Struss moved well and played smart. Even though she ended with a final round loss, her movement and play was elevated from past matches.
Sophie Lahti and Allison Unverezagt had to battle through their mental game in each match they played. They worked together to come back strong to finish their tie breakers. They played with confidence and closed out the tightest matches that they have had this season.
Claire Emmons and Malia Mikyska were a force with their great movement and aggressive net play. They dictated the points and forced their opponents into defensive situations.
Brenna Youngbauer and Lena Roubinek played strong all day with their strong net play and aggressive style. Youngbauer won the final match point with a strong overhead to crush their opponents.
We could not be prouder of how the girls played! Their determination and willingness to improve their game will help us continue to prepare for our post-season play and goals that the team has set. They are practicing hard and it is carrying over to their match play. Their determination and strength is evident each time they play a match.
We continue our conference match play as we host Pierz at 4:15 on Tuesday and head to Little Falls on Thursday. We will continue to practice hard and improve each day! The girls bring an energy to the court and are always fun to work with.
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