By Murray Gleffe, Sports Correspondent
The Jaguar girl’s tennis team traveled down to Beaver Dam for its opening two matches and came away 1-1. The Jaguars lost to Beaver Dam 5-2 in its first match, and then defeated Fort Atkinson 7-0 in its final contest. The Jaguars got off to a slow start in five of the seven matches but then flipped the switch on the Golden Beavers midway through the competition. #1 Singles player Marisa Marohl came back from 6-1, 2-0 down to capture the second set vs 2016 State Qualifier Morgan Nelson, before ultimately succumbing in a third set super tiebreaker. The #2 doubles team of Maddy Coopmans and Caylee Behnke also turned a first set setback into a winning second set. The back and forth affair kept the fans on the hill energized throughout. In the end, the Golden Beavers captured the final set to win the match. Bitz Steinhoff (#2 singles) and Emily DeLaurelle (#4 Singles) didn’t have trouble in their contests and captured the two wins for the Jaguars in straight sets. Steinhoff and DeLaurelle used their control to frustrate their counterparts into making error upon error. A typical rally during the match for Steinhoff and DeLaurelle consisted of 15-20 shots returned before the point ended.
In the 2nd match of the day, the Jaguars took on the Blackhawks from Fort Atkinson. Other than at #1 and #3 singles, the Jaguars gave up only four games at the other five flight positions! It was a dominating display of groundstrokes, deft volleys, and service winners. Jayme Kiser and Peyton Wright (#1 doubles) connected on 21 winners and only committed 6 unforced errors for the entire match.
Beaver Dam 5 Ashwaubenon 2
Singles:
1 Morgan Nelson (BD) over Marisa Marohl (Ash) 6-1, 3-6, 10-4
2 Bitz Steinhoff (Ash) over Keindra Pillsbury (BD) 6-3, 6-0
3 Hannah Budde (BD) over Aubree Helstad (Ash) 7-6, 6-2
4 Emily DeLaurelle (Ash) over Tara Wanie (BD) 6-1, 7-5
Doubles:
1 Ashley Sanites and Abby Kiesaw (BD) over Jayme Kiser and Peyton Wright (Ash) 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
2 Evie Chitko and Maddie Biel (BD) over Maddy Coopmans and Caylee Behnke (Ash) 6-4, 5-7, 10-6
3 Olivia Zahlke and Kristi Bird (BD) over Alexa Blasczyk and Addison Stromberg (Ash) 6-0, 6-3
Ashwaubenon 7 Fort Atkinson 0
Singles:
1 Marisa Marohl (Ash) over Kastyn Hebbe (FA) 6-4, 6-0
2 Bitz Steinhoff (Ash) over Stephany Sykes (FA) 6-1, 6-0
3 Aubree Helstad (Ash) over Olivia Granec (FA) 6-0, 6-4
4 Emily DeLaurelle (Ash) over Martina Walling (FA) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles:
1 Jayme Kiser and Peyton Wright (Ash) over Jackie Jensen and Klaire Trieloff (FA) 6-1, 6-1
2 Maddy Coopmans and Caylee Behnke (Ash) over Adriea Gess and Maddie Gutheridge (FA) 6-0, 6-0
3 Alexa Blasczyk and Addison Stromberg (Ash) over Lauren Lemke and Maddie Evans (FA) 6-0, 6-1