The Bluejay girls tennis team headed to the Madison area last week for a pair of meets and not surprisingly found that competition was challenging.
They also learned plenty about themselves while posting 1-2 records in both meets, good for third in Tuesday’s DeForest Quad and fourth in Saturday’s Madison Memorial Invite.
“There are a lot of very good teams in the Madison area,” MHS coach Janet Thompson said. “We took on teams that had been to state and individuals that had played at state. We knew it would be a challenge, but we wanted to go anyway.
“The girls had some tough matches. They played well and they learned a lot, but they didn’t win as many as they would like.
“I felt there were valuable experiences in every match and they learned something from them. I’m glad we went. The more matches they play, the more confidence they get, even if they lost.”
At Memorial, the host team handed Merrill a 6-1 loss, with only the #1 duo of Mandy Vonderheid and Morgan Wilde winning (6-2, 7-6 [2]). Several other matches were close, including those from Annie DeBroux/Ashley Ollhoff (7-5, 6-3), Morgan Thompson/Laura Reimann (6-4, 6-2), Therese Renaud (6-2, 7-5) and Amanda Leitzke (6-2, 6-4). Jolene Ladewig (6-2, 6-1) and Chloe Krahn (6-0, 6-2) lost in top singles matches.
The Bluejays also fell 6-1 versus Verona, with #3 singles player Renaud (6-0, 6-3) taking the lone win. Losses came from DeBroux (6-1, 6-1), Ollhoff (6-0, 6-1), Victoria Gartmann (6-3, 7-6 [10-1]), Vonderheid/Wilde (6-1, 6-2), Ladewig/Krahn (6-2, 6-4) and Leitzke/Megan Smith (6-3, 6-2).
But the Jays swept Monona Grove 7-0 behind DeBroux (6-4, 6-1), Renaud (6-0, 6-4), Krahn (6-2, 5-7, 10-7), Thompson (6-1, 6-3), Ladewig/Wilde (6-2, 6-1), Ollhoff/Vonderheid (6-4, 4-6, 10-7) and Reimann/Gartmann (6-2, 6-3).
“Therese Renaud is really improving and playing well,” Thompson said. “The doubles team of Ladewig and Wilde is also very strong. They get wins for us. Our doubles teams have been playing well. Karina (Baacke) and Mandy are also a very strong team, although Karina was not able to come on Saturday.”
The Jays were still missing #1 singles player Leah Johnson, who is back this week.
At DeForest, the Jays’ hosts put them in a 6-1 hole in the opener. Ladewig/Wilde (6-3, 4-6, 10-8) pulled out the win, while Baacke/Vonderheid (5-7, 6-4, 10-2) and Renaud/Reimann (3-6, 6-2, 10-5) were edged in three sets.
DeBroux (6-1, 6-1), Ollhoff (6-0, 6-1) Krahn (6-4, 6-4) and Leitzke (7-5, 6-2) dropped singles matches.
Merrill responded by crushing Racine Park 7-0 behind Krahn (7-6, 7-6), DeBroux (6-1, 6-2), Ollhoff (6-3, 6-4), Renaud (6-3, 6-4), Vonderheid/Baacke (6-0, 6-0), Ladewig/Wilde (6-0, 6-0) and Victoria Gartmann/Thompson (6-2, 6-2).
The Bluejays’ chances at a runner-up finish ended in a 5-2 closer with McFarland. The top two doubles teams prevailed, with Ladewig/Wilde (6-3, 6-1) and Baacke/Vonderheid (6-1, 6-2) posting solid wins. Losses came from DeBroux (6-3, 6-0), Krahn (6-0, 6-1), Reimann (6-1, 6-2), Leitzke (6-2, 6-2) and Ollhoff/Renaud (6-2, 6-0).