Netters earn first win
After a winless run through its regular season, the Glencoe-Silver Lake girls’ tennis team claimed its first victory of the autumn in the opening round of the Section 2A Tournament on Monday, Oct. 1.
Seeded ninth out of nine teams, the Panthers traveled west to Redwood Falls to take on eighth seed Redwood Valley in the sectional play-in game. GSL made the trip well worth the while, rolling to a 5-2 defeat of the host Cardinals.
The doubles teams carried the day for the Panthers, as all three duos won their matchups for a clean sweep of the tandem tennis.
Kaitlyn Doolittle and Di Fleck won 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, with Kira Mattson and Sacha Willhite and Kira Mattson winning 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2.
Katelyn Lemke and Emma Malz finished off the sweep with a 6-4, 6-1 win at third doubles.
GSL split the singles contests with the Panthers and Cardinals each winning twice.
While Redwood Valley won at first and second singles, No. 3 Krissy Major and No. 4 Taylor Hatlestad each won in three sets to clinch the day for the visitors.
Major rallied from a 1-6 loss in the first set to win 7-5 and 6-2 and take her match. Hatlestad also bounced back from a 4-6 first set loss to win the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (6), and then polish off her opponent in set three, 6-2.
GSL’s first team win of the season sets up a daunting task for the Panthers, who now travel to face top seeded Jordan in the 2A quarterfinals on Thursday.
Sectional team competition continues at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter with semifinal and final matchups on Monday.
Following the 2A team tournament, the sectional individual competition is scheduled to take place on October 11 and 15 at Gustavus Adolphus.