The girls are strengthening their skills and starting to see results

BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

On Sept. 9, 2023, the Merrill Girls Tennis Team traveled to Wausau West High School for the Girls Varsity Tennis Invitational where they played against teams from throughout the area.

Merrill vs. Antigo
In the competition against Antigo, despite losing the matches, “Chloe Belant, Sarah Rell, Parker Wagenaar, and Johanna Dahlke played very well,” Merrill Girls Varsity Head Tennis Coach Brad Barton said.
Singles:
No. 1 – Molly Neufeld, Antigo def. Lauren Belsky, Merrill, 6-3, 6-1, -;
No. 2 – Jacqueline Belling, Antigo def. Emily Frahm, Merrill, 6-1, 6-3, -;
No. 3 – Hailey Burhop, Antigo def. Kaytlyn Hulke, Merrill, 6-2, 6-0, -;
No. 4 – Julia Volpentesta, Antigo def. Rose Dornbrack, Merrill, 6-3, 6-0, -;
Doubles:
No. 1 – Amanda Waite, Antigo – Anna Vandeweerd, Antigo def. Chloe Belant, Merrill – Sarah Rell, Merrill, 6-2, 3-6, 12-10 ;
No. 2 – Evie Trabant-McKenna, Antigo – Anna Heuss, Antigo def. Korina Kraegenbrink, Merrill – Jenna Malluege, Merrill, 6-0, 6-2, -;
No. 3 – Haven Baumgartner, Antigo – Maddy Ratliff, Antigo def. Johanna Dahlke, Merrill – Parker Wagenaar, Merrill, 6-3, 5-7, 8-5 ;
Box Score:
Merrill 0 @ Antigo 7

Merrill vs. DC Everest
“I could not be prouder of Lauren Belsky and Emily Frahm in this match,” Barton said. “They played excellent.”
Singles:
No. 1 – Lauren Belsky, Merrill def. Mila Bublik, D C Everest, 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 ;
No. 3 – Brooklyn Costa, D C Everest def. Kaytlyn Hulke, Merrill, 6-0, 6-0, -;
No. 4 – Emily Ringwelski, D C Everest def. Rose Dornbrack, Merrill, 6-1, 6-0, -;
No. 2 – Emily Frahm, Merrill def. Ruth Xiong, D C Everest, 7-5, 6-3, -;
Doubles:
No. 1 – Makenna Kampmann, D C Everest – Brianna Cook, D C Everest def. Sarah Rell, Merrill – Chloe Belant, Merrill, 6-2, 6-4, -;
No. 2 – Kaylee Dunow, D C Everest – Sandra Brierton, D C Everest def. Jenna Malluege, Merrill – Korina Kraegenbrink, Merrill, 7-5, 6-3, -;
No. 3 – Madison Sazama, D C Everest – Shela Lee, D C Everest def. Parker Wagenaar, Merrill – Johanna Dahlke, Merrill, 6-0, 6-0, -;
Box Score:
DC Everest 5 @ Merrill 2

Merrill vs. Antigo – Round 2
“Emily Frahm, Chloe Belant, Sarah Rell, Jenna Malluege, and Johanna Dahlke were Merrill’s top performances in this match,” Barton said. “Both teams did not have a doubles team to play 3 doubles, so there was no winning team.”
Singles:
No. 1 – Emily Frahm, Merrill def. Julia Volpentesta, Antigo, 2-6, 7-5, 11-9 ;
No. 2 – Jacqueline Belling, Antigo def. Kaytlyn Hulke, Merrill, 6-1, 6-1, -;
No. 3 – Hailey Burhop, Antigo def. Rose Dornbrack, Merrill, 6-1, 6-2, -;
No. 4 – Haven Baumgartner, Antigo def. Claire Hintz, Merrill, 6-1, 6-1, -;
Doubles:
No. 1 – Chloe Belant, Merrill – Sarah Rell, Merrill def. Anna Heuss, Antigo – Evie Trabant-mckenna, Antigo, 6-1, 6-2, -;
No. 3 – Jenna Malluege, Merrill – Johanna Dahlke, Merrill def. Harmony Kannenberg, Antigo – Olivia Spencer, Antigo, 6-3, 7-5, -;
Box Score:
Merrill 3 @ Antigo 3

Merrill vs. Rhinelander
“Lauren Belsky is Merrill’s first win against a Rhinelander team in about five years,” Barton said. “To make it even more impressive, she was playing at the number one singles spot. She got off to a fast start and never let up.”
Singles:
No. 1 – Lauren Belsky, Merrill def. Kayla Tessman, Rhinelander, 6-2, 6-2, -;
No. 2 – Karmen Lopez, Rhinelander def. Kaytlyn Hulke, Merrill, 6-1, 6-0, -;
No. 3 – Maya Patrick, Rhinelander def. Rose Dornbrack, Merrill, 6-0, 6-2, -;
No. 4 – Becca Brost, Rhinelander def. Forfeit Forfeit, Merrill, 2-0, 2-0, -;
Doubles:
No. 1 – Tori Riopel, Rhinelander – Shayla Coppenger, Rhinelander def. Chloe Belant, Merrill – Sarah Rell, Merrill, 6-0, 6-0, -;
No. 2 – Evelyn Sawyer, Rhinelander – Dawsyn Barkus, Rhinelander def. Jenna Malluege, Merrill – Johanna Dahlke, Merrill, 6-0, 6-1, -;
No. 3 – Willow VanDenHeuvel, Rhinelander – Teagan Turcotte, Rhinelander def. Maycie Zastrow, Merrill – Claire Hintz, Merrill, 6-0, 6-0, -;
Box Score:
Rhinelander 6 @ Merrill 1

Wausau East
On Sept. 5, the Merrill Varsity Girls played against Wausau East on their home courts here in Merrill. While Wausau East took the win, Merrill had some strong moments and some winning games. The girls are making progress.
“Merrill fared better than usual against Wausau East tonight,” Barton said. “We won at No. 1 doubles convincingly.”
“We pulled out a close win at No. 2 doubles,” he said. “Kaytlyn Hulke got out to a fast start but eventually succumbed 6-3, 6-0.
Singles:
No. 1 – Abbey Olson, Wausau East def. Lauren Belsky, Merrill, 6-0, 6-0, -;
No. 2 – Talia Schlindwein, Wausau East def. Emily Frahm, Merrill, 6-1, 6-0, -;
No. 3 – Salome Ujarmeli, Wausau East def. Kaytlyn Hulke, Merrill, 6-3, 6-0, -;
No. 4 – Scout Sweeney, Wausau East def. Rose Dornbrack, Merrill, 6-3, 6-1, -;
Doubles:
No. 1 – Chloe Belant, Merrill – Sarah Rell, Merrill def. Alaina Baken, Wausau East – Daeisha Chang, Wausau East, 6-1, 6-2, -;
No. 2 – Jenna Malluege, Merrill – Korina Kraegenbrink, Merrill def. Taryn Throm, Wausau East – Meghan Schwartz, Wausau East, 7-6 (3), 6-3, -;
No. 3 – Naomi Potter, Wausau East – Lillyan Casey, Wausau East def. Johanna Dahlke, Merrill – Parker Wagenaar, Merrill, 6-1, 6-0, -;
Box Score:
Wausau East 5 @ Merrill 2