PREP TENNIS: Luverne defeats RV; advances to semifinals

LUVERNE — Luverne’s Kaitlin Wohnoutka won her No. 1 singles match over Kallie Smith as the Cardinals won 6-1 over River Valley Thursady in the Section 3 quarterfinals.

Wohnoutka’s win came against Kallie Smith, 6-2, 6-4. Emily Robinson took down Becky Roiger of RV 6-2, 6-3 in No. 2 singles, while Katie Eeten defeated Lauren Laffen 6-3, 6-4 in No. 3 singles.

“Our singles really did another great job today,” LHS coach Greg Antoine said. “The four seniors played some of their best tennis of the season today. They controlled most of the points and finished points when they had the chance. They were patient when they needed to be and just went out and did their jobs.”

Paige Adams and Kynzie Smedsrud won their No. 1 doubles match over Emily Johnson and Kalyn Haas of River Valley 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

“Paige and Kynzie lost the first set to RV,” Antoine said. “They had a little gut check and then really turned things around to win in 3 sets. They haven’t been behind much this year and it was really interesting to see how they would respond.”

“They dug themselves out of their hole to really control the 2nd and 3rd sets. I think they learned a lot about themselves today. It was a good match to go into the rest of the team tournament and also the individual tournament.”

At No. 2 doubles, Luverne’s Brianna Erickson and Danielle Kneip defeated Marlayna Evers and Erika Ries 6-2, 6-3.

“Danielle and Brianna aveneged a loss at Sleepy Eye and beat their opponents quite handily,” Antoine said. “They really looked good tonight by being aggressive and finishing off many of their rallies with winners. Mckenzie and Tatiana played hard but came up on the short end of the match.”

River Valley picked up their only win at No. 3 doubles with Alex Chaney and Katelyn Johnson taking down Mckenzie Wenninger and Tatiana Gust 6-4, 6-4.

With the win, the Cardinals move on to the section semifinals and will play Redwood Valley Tuesday at 11 a.m. in St. Peter.

Tags: sports, prep, tennis, luverne