The Pine City Tennis team is off to a great start this season and they continued that in the Eberhart Invitational.
From head coach Kristin Unverzagt:
The PCHS tennis team wrapped up their week with the Eberhart Invitational. 8 out of the 9 section teams come to compete and it is a great day of tennis! The teams were Aitkin, Crosby-Ironton, Eveleth-Gilbert, Marshall School (Duluth), Mora, Pierz, and Virginia. Our team played stepped up and played the best tennis they have so far this season. They are continuing to work hard and getting better every time they are on the court! All 8 positions finished with a medal! As a team, we took 2nd place. The top four team standings for the tournament were:
1. Virginia (30 points)
2. Pine City (28 points)
3. Pierz (21 points)
4. Eveleth-Gilbert (19 points)
The team points are scored by individual wins. A win on the championship side of the bracket is worth two points. A win after a loss is worth one point.
At first singles, Lydia Adams took second place after a touch battle with Audrey Delich from Eveleth-Gilbert. Most of her games went to deuce and with no ad scoring, this can change a match in a hurry. She played very well and attacked the short balls.
Playing second singles, Ella Sell had a battle in her first round losing to Ava Warren from Virginia. Despite the loss, this was one of Sell's best matches. She went for everything and made Warren earn every point. She finished the day as the consolation champion.
Elizabeth Cahil was our third singles players. Her steady game and consistency allowed her to move through to the finals. She took 2nd place, but played a good match even though she fell short against Virgnia.
In 4th singles, Addison Sell dominated with great wins over Duluth Marshall, Virginia, and Pierz. This was her second time playing 4th singles, but she stood strong for the Dragons and used her strengths to finish with 1st place!
First doubles (Emily Carpenter and Maddie Berglund) also took 1st place in the 1st doubles bracket. They had great movement and communication. They were making good choices on the court and played very strong.
Second doubles (Katie Miller and Lindsay Miller) were tough and finished in 3rd place. They lost a battle in their second round with a tie breaker against Pierz. Despite the loss, they played very well to defeat Crosby Ironton for a 3rd place finish. I am so proud of the way that these two moved on the court and attacked the net!
At third doubles (Allison Unverzagt and Sophia Lahti) stepped up to the plate and had some great matches! They finished in third place with a win over Eveleth-Gilbert. They had to battle back after being down 1-4 in the second set to finish with a 7-5 victory. They stayed strong and utilized their strengths at the net to close out on their opponent.
At exhibition, Claire Emmons and Emily Guzik played doubles. They finished as consolation champions. They played well and had to fight hard for their tie breaker victory over Eveleth-Gilbert in the last round.
This has been a good week for the girls with a win over a Mora and a strong showing at the tournament!
Next week, we will host Pierz for a conference match on Tuesday, September 11 and head to Hibbing for a tournament on Saturday, September 15.
Photo Credit to Lancelot Furber
