Braves sweep doubles, clip Esky
GLADSTONE — A sweep of the doubles helped Gladstone pick up the first match of Delta County girls tennis rivals here Monday. The Braves beat undermanned Escanaba by a deceptive 6-2 margin.
“We were close everywhere,” said first-year Escanaba coach Chris Ogren. “The singles were a clear 2-2 split, the doubles were close all-around.”
The victory was a good bounce-back for the Braves, who fell 8-0 to potent Marquette in last week’s opener. “We got a better feel for where we are at,” Gladstone coach Halley Reichel said after the victory.
“I’m very pleased. Marquette we had a little bit of nerves, and Marquette is very good. Today they seemed a lot more relaxed and played with more confidence.
“We did a better job anticipating the ball today. We’re also working on our serves. With such a young team, service is very technical, and that comes with a lot of practice.”
Reichel has just two seniors on the team, which is dominated by freshmen and sophomores.
Junior Andie Balenger set the pace Monday, posting an impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory over Heather Bergstrom at No. 1 singles.
Reichel, who missed last season while on maternity leave, said an upcoming tournament at Westwood will be beneficial. “I will have a really good idea after that invitational,” she said.
The Eskymos were missing three players as the second week of the season got underway. “We are a work in progress, we are still experimenting,” said Ogren.
“Who knows how things would have panned out with our full team here or how I would have put our lineup together today.”
Jacey Moreau at No. 2 singles and Jasmine Clark at No. 3 provided the only victories for the Eskymos, both needing just two sets.
“They played patient, solid tennis,” said Ogren, who succeeded long-time coach Dennis Lueneburg this fall. Lueneburg is recovering from recent hip replacement surgery that was scheduled after he resigned from his tennis post.
Ogren just began working with his team last week. “We are pretty balanced right now the way I have the lineup set,” said Ogren, indicating he hopes to solidify the team in the next week-plus.
“I haven’t seen a lot of the girls play (in matches) yet. By halfway through the season I need to have it locked down.”
Although Gladstone swept the doubles, Ogren pointed out that division was “back and forth. They got the big shots and won the important games.”
Two of the four doubles matches lasted three sets, with Olivia Saari-Marnea LaFave squeezing past Renee Perrault-Jessica Koish 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 in perhaps the best matchup.
Ogren said Moreau and Bergstrom are very close in ability and expect to play some tough matches against strong opponents this seasosn.
“I could have a real strong singles lineup if I wanted,” Ogren said of trying to sort out the strengths and weaknesses of his players.
The summary:
Singles
No. 1 – Andie Balenger, G, def. Heather Bergstrom, 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 – Jacey Moreau, E, def. Alaina Trudeau, 6-0, 6-2; No. 3 – Jasmine Clark, E, def. Kylie Williams 6-0, 6-1; No. 4 – Abby Rouleau, G, def. Brianna O’Driscoll, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles
No.1 – Sydney Herious-Taylor Trudeau, G, def. Maddy Ide-Alison Sommers, 6-4, 6-3; No.2 – Olivia Saari-Marnea LaFave, G, def. Renee Perreault, Jessica Koish, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4; No. 3 – Emma DeLaire-Jacinda Lippens, G, def. Madison Mishica-Eloise Fletcher, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3; No. 4 – Emily Marenger-Kate Matthews, G, def. Rylee Kuehl-Laura Sliva 7-5, 6-1.