Gladstone girls nearly sweep Modeltowners
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GLADSTONE -- The Gwinn girls provided a few challenges, but Gladstone proved equal to those here Wednesday in a 4-1 tennis victory over the shorthanded Modeltowners.
Braves' senior Kate Matthews overcame a 5-1 deficit in the second set in a 6-1, 7-5 triumph over sophomore Lily Kerry on this sunny, warm and windy afternoon.
"She was real determined and I was very tense in the second set," said Matthews. "I couldn't adjust to the wind at first. Once I calmed down, I started to move my feet more and started hitting my shots. It was a very competitive match. She's a real good player."
The lone three-set match took place at No. 3 singles where junior Madelyn Brady got the Modeltowners on the board with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory over sophomore Rachel Krouth.
"In the second set, it seemed like she got a burst of energy and I felt a little tired," said Brady. "She did amazing. We're very evenly matched. We often went down to the last point."
The victory enabled Brady to improve to 2-1 this season.
"I felt I was better than last year, only I didn't know how good that was," she said. "I think our courts are amazing. It's nice to have new courts at our school."
Gwinn coach Darcia Mattson was happy to see the Modeltowners get on the board.
"That was a big confidence boost for us," she said. "We lost six seniors from last year's team and two moved out of the area. We have eight on our roster, but today we played only seven. We haven't been able to recruit players and do camps due to Covid-19. We're doing this for the girls who are here. We love the sport and just want to play our hardest and do our best. The score doesn't reflect our abilities."
In No. 1 singles, Gladstone senior Alaina Trudeau took a 6-1, 6-0 decision from sophomore Ashley Scott.
"I just had to focus on getting the ball over the net and not giving up any unforced errors," said Trudeau. "The wind was a big factor. It carried the ball for sure. It was different depending on which side of the court I was on. The U.P. Finals will definitely be like this, so this was good practice. We're just lucky to be here (due to Covid-19). The whole team is glad to have a season."
Gladstone seniors Marnnea LaFave and Emma Delaire copped No. 1 doubles in a 6-1, 6-1 conquest of seniors Mackenzie Malette and Alyssa Whitaker.
"We worked real well together," said Delaire. "We were able to adjust to the wind and they were having problems with it."
The 20-25 mph northwest winds often made it challenging for both teams to keep the ball inbounds.
"It definitely affected our serves, especially when we were hitting with the wind," said LaFave. "I would much rather hit into the wind because I tend to hit the ball too hard.
"We're .500 right now (2-2). We're happy with how we've done so far."
Juniors Alesha Marenger-Emma Wagner provided to Braves with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Daylee O'Donnell-Kaitlyn Shelafoe in No. 2 doubles.
"We were able to adjust to the wind," said Wagner. "Alesha and I communicate well and everything went smoothly. Everything worked in our favor."
The Braves host West Iron County today at 4. Gwinn hosts Iron Mountain today.
Singles
No. 1 -- Trudeau, Glad, def. Scott, 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 -- Matthews, Glad, def. Kerry, 6-1, 7-5; No. 3 -- Brady, Gw, def. Krouth, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.
Doubles
No. 1 -- LaFave-Delaire, Glad, def. Malette-Whitaker, 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 -- Marenger-Wagner, Glad, def. O'Donnell-Shelafoe, 6-0, 6-0.