The Bluejays girls suffered a couple of tough Valley losses last week, falling 5-2 to D.C. Everest on Tuesday and 4-3 at Wausau West on Thursday.
The Jays took the top three singles matches on Thursday with Annie DeBroux (6-0, 6-1), Chloe Krahn (6-3, 6-3) and Megan Smith (6-1, 6-3), and Ariel Hinz was edged 6-7, 6-0, 6-2. The doubles teams all fell, including Morgan Wilde/Ashley Ollhoff (6-0, 6-1), Morgan Thompson/Katie Purmal (6-1, 6-3) and Rachel Bayer/Hanna Cohrs (7-5, 6-2).
“It was another very close match for us,” MHS coach Janet Thompson said. “It’s always tense when the outcome of the meet comes down to a third set in the last match out on the courts. Ariel played well, but her opponent used a variety of well-placed shots to eventually wear her down.
“Annie DeBroux had an outstanding performance at #1 singles. She was so consistent with powerful groundstrokes throughout the match. Her play continues to improve every week.”
Everest edge
Tuesday’s loss was almost the mirror image of Thursday’s, with both wins coming doubles from Wilde/Ollhoff (6-3, 1-6, 6-4) and Thompson/Purmal (6-4, 4-6, 6-2).
“In our first conference match we were able to win the singles matches, but lost with the doubles,” MHS coach Janet Thompson said. “This week against Everest our doubles teams played well and we lost all of the singles matches. We really need, as a team, to hit our stride and play well in both.
“On Tuesday afternoon, all of our doubles teams took their matches to three sets. Great serving and aggressive net play were the keys to Morgan and Ashley’s victory. They got a little off their game during the second set, but were able to come back strong in the third. At number two doubles, Morgan and Katie were determined to work to take control of the points by coming up to the net together. They definitely had the advantage over their opponents when they could come up and both play aggressively.”
Cohrs/Bayer were tipped 6-7, 7-6, 6-2. Other defeats were handed to: DeBroux (6-0, 6-1), Krahn (6-0, 6-0), Smith (7-5, 6-4) and Hinz (6-2, 7-5).
Merrill is 6-7 on the season.