The end of the season loomed overhead like the sword of Damocles, but the Bluejay girls put their fear aside, rose from their collective chair, stepped aside and snipped the thread.
Merrill managed to qualify for Wednesday’s WIAA Wausau East Sectional at two different positions and every girl on the squad tasted victory. MHS ranked 4th of 9 entries in Monday’s D.C. Everest Sub-sectional.
“Everyone on the team won their first match,” MHS coach Janet Thompson said. “It was a great way to start a long day of competition. Play began at 9:30 a.m. and our last match ended about 6:00 p.m.
“Jolene Ladewig and Morgan Wilde took control of their match and won easily 6-2, 6-4. At the #1 doubles position they only needed to win that one match to advance to sectionals.
“Annie DeBroux, on the other hand, had to play three matches on her road to the sectionals. Annie played so well all day. She adjusted to three opponents with very different styles of play. In her second match she upset the top seed, Baumann of Wausau East. She closed out her final match with two sets of very smart tennis with many well placed shots which forced (Marshfield’s Lara) Prebble to commit errors.”
Ladewig/Wilde topped West’s #1 duo of Michelle Brandt/Kate Peterson for Wednesday’s sectional berth. They need to win their first match to qualify for state and additional victories could help them earn a seed. DeBroux pulled off a 6-4, 6-1 starter, then bumped #1 seed Anna Baumann of Wausau East 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. She finished with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Prebble.
All the rest of the girls took their first match, then dropped the second, including Leah Johnson by 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0 scores, Chloe Krahn by 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 scores, Therese Renaud by 6-0, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 tallies, Karina Baacke/Morgan Thompson by 6-1, 6-0 and 6-3, 6-0 scores and Amanda Leitzke/Ashley Ollhoff by 6-3, 6-2 and 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 totals.
Valley Meet
The Jays had seen better days this season than in Thursday’s WVC Meet at Wausau West.
“We didn’t play up to our potential at the conference tournament,” Thompson said. “A lot of the girls started strong and won their first match of the day, but lost their momentum going into the second and third rounds. We went on to play much better at sub-sectionals on Monday.”
Johnson lost 6-1, 6-2, but rebounded with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win. Chloe Krahn dropped 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2, 6-3 matches. DeBroux opened with a 6-1, 6-3 victory before falling 6-1, 6-2. Renaud pulled out wins of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-0 after an opening 6-2, 6-1 loss.
Ladewig/Wilde fell 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-2. Baacke/Thompson prevailed 6-2, 6-3 before dropping 6-2, 6-3 and 7-5, 6-4 matches. Leitzke/Ollhoff battled to a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 win before losing 6-3, 6-3 and 5-7, 7-5, 7-6.