Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Gladstone’s Rachel Krouth returns the ball in a No. 2 singles match against Negaunee Wednesday at Gladstone.

GLADSTONE — The Gladstone girls tennis team had to take its lumps here Wednesday as the Negaunee Miners ran away with the match 8-0.

The Braves found most of their success at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles.

At No. 3 singles, the Braves’ Addison Trombley won two games against Lexi Mason in the first set but couldn’t find her feet in the second.

“I am learning so many aspects of the game this year from my teammates and my opponents,” Trombley commented.

No. 1 doubles was a mirror of Trombley’s match where the Gladstone duo of Alesha Marenger and Emma Wagner fell flat in the first set but won two games in the second against Negaunee’s Morgan Carlson and Katelyn Lammi.

“Today was a rough match for Alesha and I,” Wagner said. “During the first set, the wind was pretty strong, and we both struggled with trying to adjust to the wind. But in the second set we both played very well. The wind died down, our serves were consistent, and our returns improved. Alesha did an amazing job hustling when she played back as well. Despite losing today’s match, I am proud of how we played during the second set.”

Gladstone came up short in the remaining singles matches, falling to Negaunee (13-0) without winning a game.

“My match today was very challenging,” Gladstone’s No. 1 singles Kate Matthews said. “My opponent was extremely good. Her serves were tough for me to return in the 1st set, but I finally got a hang of it and could return them better. Her shots were very well placed. I’m glad I got the opportunity to play her because it definitely made me better as a player.”

The Negaunee team had warmed up earlier with a match against Menominee, and the Miners preserved their record through both.

“Any time you play, you want to find little things that you can do to get better on a daily basis, and I think our doubles teams moved better in our second match than they did in the first,” Miners coach Kyle Saari said. “I think that’s just natural after you get the first match out of the way. Our No. 2 doubles team has done a lot too. Hitting the ball with pace, and it just looks like they’re having fun out there. When that happens, then you can play your best.

“Gotta keep the eyes forward. With each passing day if you experience a little success the target kind of grows, but the focus is just on us getting better and hopefully peaking at the right time.”

Gladstone visits Escanaba Friday, and Negaunee hosts Munising today.

Singles

No. 1 — Nelson, N, def. Matthews, G, 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 — Skewis, N, def. Krouth, G, 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 — Mason, N, def. Trombley, G, 6-2, 6-0; No. 4 — Tervo, N, def. Barron, G, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

No. 1 — Carlson-Lammi, N, def. Marenger-Wagner, G, 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 — T. Williams-S. Wiliams, N, def. Pepin-Buchley, G, 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 — Austin-Miller, N, def. Castor-Rosa, G, 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 — Drew-Mager, N, def. Robinson-Charlebois, G, 6-0, 6-1.