WORTHINGTON -- If the ball was merely floated over the net, Rachel Drietz was going to make every swing count.
A freshman on Worthington's girls' tennis team, Drietz was hitting solid shots at the net on Monday in the Trojans' match with the Yellow Medicine East Lady Sting.
"They were actually floating them quite a bit," Drietz said following Worthington's 7-0 loss. "I just got up to the net and felt like slamming it down."
Drietz teamed with Elizabeth Luke on Monday at No. 1 doubles.
"It went really, really good today," Drietz said. "We worked really well together, even though last time we played we didn't do so great.
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"Last time, they were hitting a lot faster than this team. We didn't have enough time to react to it."
But against YME's Jenna Rasmusson and Cortney Bennett, the two Trojans battled hard.
"I think we were both having a good day," Drietz said. "Sometimes you have an off day and everything goes bad. I think today, we did really good.
"Our top spin was really good with the form and everything. Our serves were going well, too."
The Lady Sting duo earned the 6-3, 6-2 victory, but it wasn't easy.
"Elizabeth and Rachel don't normally play together, but they still were able to pick up some games," said Worthington assistant coach Krista Van Note, who was filling in for head coach Mike Marquardt. "I am positive that they were down 5-0 in the second set and then came back to pick up two more games. I think that's a good thing, the girls are understanding that just because you're down in a set doesn't mean that the set is over."
At No. 1 singles, Emily Williamson suffered a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Hannah Hagen.
Kate Lesnar lost 6-3, 6-2 to Kayla Hegna at No. 2 singles.
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"I had a lot of good angles on my volleys," Lesnar said. "My first serves, again, we were really good.
"I think I was hurrying up too much. I wasn't patient enough. I tried to make an amazing shot when it wasn't the right time. It frustrated me."
Lesnar hit some great shots during her match, including an over-the-head shot to score a point.
"I thought it was going to be way out," she said. "I was so shocked when I saw that it was in. I was going to start laughing so hard because I didn't expect it to go in. I was so happy."
But Hegna was able to effectively use lobs to keep the Trojan off balance.
"Whenever I'd go up to the net, she'd lob it over me and she had really good lobs," Lesnar said. "When I stayed back, then she'd hit it short and I'd have to hurry up to the net. Her lobs were killing me, I think."
At No. 3 singles, Sabrina Klein suffered a 6-0, 6-3 loss, while Kirsten Aljets lost 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4.
Brianna Kempema and Heather Loy lost 6-0, 6-0 to Taylor Lee and Leah Gluth at No. 2 doubles.
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"We had a lot of really good rallies," Kempema said. "They were just lobbing up all the time and that was really hard to get back to.
"My serving was really good and Heather was really good up at the net."
Ashley Jansma and Sarah Janssen lost 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 doubles to complete the sweep.
In exhibition play, Erika Schutte and Annie Lesnar lost 6-1, while Paige Stewart and Katherine Luke lost 6-0. Fernanda Torres and Alexis Melendez lost 6-0.
But despite the sweep, Van Note was pleased with the team's effort.
"There was a lot of smart tennis being played tonight," the coach said. "Girls were thinking and paying attention to the weaknesses of their opponent. That's what we try to get them to do, pay more attention to their opponent and not focus on what they themselves are doing wrong."
Worthington will be at Luverne today for a tournament before traveling to MACCRAY on Thursday.
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