WORTHINGTON -- The Worthington girls' tennis team dropped their first match of the season by a score of 6-1 to the River Valley Wildcats Tuesday in Worthington.
"I was a little surprised with how well the girls were doing with their footwork," Trojans coach Mike Marquardt said. "Footwork is key between the serve and the finishing shot."
Worthington's Emily Williamson lost in No. 1 singles to Rivervalley's Kallie Smith 6-1, 6-1.
In No. 2 singles, Elizabeth Luke lost to Becky Roiger 6-0, 6-1.
Rachel Drietz picked up the lone win for the Trojan's, beating Lauren Laffen 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Rachel had her mind on the other side of the net," Marquardt said. "She was focused on her opponent and what she was doing."
At No. 4 singles, WHS's Kirsten Aljets lost a close one to Natalie Stevens 6-3, 7-5.
"The singles did well, but we could use more consistency from them," Marquardt said.
In No. 1 doubles, Annie Lesnar and Brianna Kempema lost to River Valley's Emily Johnson and Kalyn Johnson 6-2, 6-1.
The WHS duo of Laura Wettering and Makenzie Carstensen lost to Marlayna Evers and Erika Ries 6-6 (7-4), 6-2 in a battle at No. 2 doubles.
At No. 3 doubles, Sarah Janssen and Ashely Jansma lost to Alex Chaney and Allyssa Rubey 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
"I was really impressed with the doubles footwork and volleys," Marquardt said. "We finished well, but we had some hiccups with our serves, but the rest of it made up for that."
In Worthington JV singles, Kristy Workman lost 6-0, Lyndsy Schock lost 6-0, while Kelly Newman picked up the only JV victory with a 6-0 win.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kara Hanius and Erika Schultz lost to Katelyn Johnson and Carissa Evers 6-2, 6-2 in JV doubles.
The only two wins for WHS JV doubles came from Miranda Lebrun and Alicia Khatt, who won 8-3, and Maggie Malathip and Yadira Barragan, who won 6-5.
Justyce Voss and Paige Stewart lost 8-3, while Shelby Larson and Carol Owens lost 6-0. In the last doubles match, Tatyana Clark and Katilyn Brunk lost 6-5.
"I am very pleased with how we played in our first game," Marquardt said.
The Cardinals play a doubleheader against Mankato West and Shakopee at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Mankato West.
Luverne beats Sioux Falls Lincoln JV 4-3
LUVERNE -- The Luverne Cardinals girls' tennis team beat Sioux Falls Lincoln JV by a score of 4-3 Tuesday night in Luverne.
The Cardinals swept the singles matchups, but were not able to pick up any wins in doubles.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Our singles carried us today," Luverne coach Greg Antoine said. "We put all of our experience in singles and it paid off for us."
In No. 1 singles, Kaitlin Wohnoutka defeated Kaitlin Olson 6-2, 6-0.
Emily Robinson won at No. 2 singles against Ana VanRocke 6-2, 6-1.
In No. 3 singles, Paige Adams defeated Jessie Rames 6-4, 6-1.
And finally, at No. 4 singles Kynzie Smedsrud beat Sara Ponwith 7-5, 6-4.
"Paige and Kynzie played their first real singles matches today and came out on top," Antoine said. "They played well and you could see the improvement in their singles games from the beginning of their matches to the end."
At No. 1 doubles, Danielle Kneip and Brianna Erickson were defeated by Eli Crain and Jenny Malcomb 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 10-7.
Cardinals No. 2 doubles team Lexi Severtson and Mckenzie Wenninger lost to Alex Kracht and Sydney Dixen 6-1, 5-7, 10-4.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the final doubles matchup, LHS's Brooke Nattress and Monaya Hustoft lost to Allie Berry and Courtney Bendkin 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 doubles.
"Our doubles played OK, but just needed to be a little more competitive in the right spots," Antoine said. "We need to be more aggressive at the net.
"We have to work on creating times in the game to be aggressive and finish the points. We just need to get more experience for all of the girls."
The Cardinals (2-1) will be at the St. James Tournament Wednesday and then at the Worthington Tournament Saturday.
Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi
may be reached at 376-7335.
