Eskymos split with Marquette, fall to Westwood in tennis action
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WEST ISHPEMING -- The Escanaba girls salvaged a tie in two tennis meet here Tuesday.
Esky and Marquette played to a 4-4 draw, then dropped a 5-3 decision to Ishpeming Westwood.
"It was a highly competitive day against two of the best teams in the U.P., " Esky coach Chris Ogren said. Marquette is the defending GNC (Great Northern Conference) champion and Westwood finished as runner-up in the U.P. last year, so we knew that today would be a measuring stick type of day. I was overall very pleased with how the girls played today. There were competitive matches everywhere and the outcomes could have been very different had a few balls bounced slightly differently."
Anna Martin and Varah Veeser provided the Eskymos with two victories apiece.
Martin defeated Marquette's Stella Dehlin 6-1, 6-3 and Westwood's Lyn Magnuson 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in No. 1 singles.
"Anna started by playing a really consistent game against Stella Dehlin and was able to win rather comfortably," Ogren said. "After playing one match had to take on Lyn Magnuson. Anna fell behind 5-2 in the first set before clawing her way back to take the lead 6-5. Lyn won the next game, but Anna was able to prevail in the tie-break 7-4 and take the first set. Anna really found her groove in the second set and was able to pull away. This is the best tennis I've seen Anna play in her four years on the team.
"Her ability to hit the topspin from the baseball as well as comfortably come to the net and win points with her volleys is a combination that I haven't coached at Escanaba in my career. She is a tremendously well-rounded player that also gets along with her opponents. After beating Lyn today, the two competitors left the court together and ran through the sprinklers to cool off. Anna is a tremendous tennis player, but also a tremendous representative of Escanaba athletics, and she put both of those things on display today."
Veeser topped Marquette's Nora Skytta 6-4, 6-3 and outlasted Westwood's Emmi Carlson 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 10-7.
"Varrah had lost to Nora multiple times last year," Ogren said. "This year, however, Varrah has stepped up her game considerably and was able to win. Then in her second match, the first set went to a tie-break and took so long that over half of the matches between Escanaba and Westwood were done with two sets by the time Varrah won the first set.
"After losing the second set Varrah played a 10-point tie-break to determine the winner. Varrah fell behind early in the tie-break, but battled back and eventually won it 10-7. Varrah showed a well-rounded game today, staying patient while also being willing to play the net. It was a great day for her."
The Eskymos host Gladstone Tuesday.
ESCANABA 4, MARQUETTE 4
Singles
No. 1 -- Martin, E, def. Dehlin, 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 -- Longtine, M, def. Vogel, 6-2, 6-1; No. 3 -- Veeser, E, def. Skytta, 6-4, 6-3; No. 4 -- Kuhl, M, def. Alimenti, 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Kentala-Thomsen, M, def, Hill-Noblet, 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 -- Jacobsen-Benetti, E, def. Rink-Downey, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1; No. 3 -- Swajanen-Dewitt, M, def. Landwehr-Dittrich, 7-5, 6-7 (6-7), 10-4; No. 4 -- DeGrand-Jackson, E, def. Helman-Jandreau, 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.
ISHPEMING WESTWOOD 5, ESCANABA 3
Singles
No. 1 -- Martin, E, def. Magnuson, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; No. 2 -- Doney, W, def. Vogel, 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 -- Veeser, E, def. Carlson, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 10-7; No. 4 -- Belpedio, W, def. Alimenti, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Burke-Stacy, W, def. Hill-Jacobsen, 6-2, 6-4; No. 2 -- Michaud-Richards, W, def. Noblet-Benetti, 7-5, 6-4; No. 3 -- Landwehr-Dittrich, E, def. Lafreniere-Williams, 6-4, 6-3; No. 4 -- Marana-Mahaffey, W, def. DeGrand-Jackson, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.