“Jaguar tennis loses heartbreaker to Red Raiders 4-3”
By Murray Gleffe, Sports Correspondent
The Ashwaubenon Jaguar girl’s tennis team put themselves in a position to win Tuesday afternoon vs the reigning Team State Champion Pulaski Red Raiders. After 3 ½ hours of grueling tennis, the Red Raiders pulled out a 4-3 victory as light was fading.
After the Red Raiders had struck first at #2 Singles, the Jaguars got victories by Bitz Steinhoff and Emily DeLaurelle at #3 and #4 Singles. Delaurelle got out to a fast start in the first set winning 6 of the 8 games played. However, Sophia Sperduto of the Red Raiders battled back to take an early lead in the subsequent set. DeLaurelle calmed her nerves and rattled off 6 games in a row to improve to a remarkable 12-0 on the young season. Steinhoff found herself in a tussle with Emily Jerovertz of Pulaski. The first set went back and forth with neither player giving an inch. Lobs, passing shots, and deep ground strokes were the forte in the twelve-game set. Finally, Steinhoff broke Jerovertz at 6-5 with a piercing passing shot. She then grasped that momentum and won the 2nd set convincingly to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead in the team portion.
Jaguar #1 Singles Player Marisa Marohl strikes a serve during her match
The Red Raiders went on to capture the #1 and #3 doubles, meaning the Jaguars had to win the last two matches of the evening to pull out the victory. The #2 doubles team of Caylee Behnke and Maddy Coopmans did their part in earning a straight sets victory over Walkenhorst and Strenski. The match was deadlocked at 3 matches apiece with #1 singles to be decided for the final point. Marisa Marohl came out vs state ranked and 2016 state qualifier Lauren Monette and won the first set 6-3 in stunning fashion. Monette came into the match at 13-1 on the year and 62-9 for her high school career. The record didn’t faze Marohl. She countered everything Monette had to offer. Eventually, Monette’s powerful groundstrokes and consistent serve came to the forefront and she won the last 12 of the 14 games of the match to pull out the individual and team match for the Red Raiders. Marohl proved, though, that she is an exciting young sophomore talent to watch for the Jaguars. The Jaguars will be back in action August 31st when they travel to Manitowoc to take on the Ships in a pivotal FRCC contest.
Pulaski 4 Ashwaubenon 3
Singles:
1 Lauren Monette (Pul) over Marisa Marohl(Ash) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
2 Sofia Magnuson (Pul) over Aubree Helstad (Ash) 6-2, 6-0
3 Bitz Steinhoff (Ash) over Emily Jerovertz (Pul) 7-5, 6-2
4 Emily DeLaurelle (Ash) over Sophia Sperduto (Pul) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
1 Brooke Steeno and Jaclyn Willems (Pul) over Jayme Kiser and Peyton Wright (Ash) 6-0, 6-4
2 Maddy Coopmans and Caylee Behnke (Ash) over Megan Walkenhorst and Jenna Strenski (Pul) 6-2, 6-2
3 Taylor Bogacz and Sara Kunesh (Pul) over Addison Stromberg and Kennedy Conradt (Ash) 6-4, 6-1
