The Bluejay tennis team wrapped up its Valley dual schedule with a pair of losses, and was edged 4-3 by Antigo at home on Monday.
“We’ve had a busy week finishing out our conference matches and making up a match against Antigo that had been rained out earlier in the season,” MHS coach Janet Thompson said. “Antigo was a tight competitive match. Frances Moonen continues to rack up the wins at #2 singles. She played smart tennis throughout her match, mixing things up with her slice and her strong ground-strokes. Rachel (Bayer) and Katie (Nelson) also cruised to pretty easy victories.
“The meet was tied at three matches each, with only #1 doubles still playing. Katie (Purmal) and Kayla (Sutton) truly played a great match, but their opponents got more aggressive in that deciding third set.”
Scores–Singles–#1 Michaela Raleigh L 6-3, 6-0; #2 Frances Moonen W 6-4, 6-3; #3 Rachel Bayer W 6-2, 6-1; #4 Katie Nelson W 6-1, 6-0. Doubles–#1 Katie Purmal/Kayla Sutton L 7-5, 4-6, 6-2; #2 Alli Prebeg/Grace Huftel L 6-0, 6-2; #3 Alissa Brewer/Cassandra Plachetka 6-0, 6-3.
Raided!
Merrill managed a pair of individual victories in Thursday’s home meet with Rapids.
“I was so happy to see Michaela get her first win in the Valley at #1 singles against Rapids,” Thompson said. “It’s not easy at the top, but she never gives up and was able to come back in this one after being down 1-4 in the first set.
“Our doubles teams are still struggling a bit, but are definitely reducing their unforced errors and are working on not giving away so many ‘free’ points at the net.”
Scores–Singles–#1 Raleigh W 7-5, 6-0; #2 Moonen L 6-3, 6-2; #3 Bayer L 6-4, 0-6, 7-5; #4 Nelson W 6-1, 6-3. Doubles–#1 Purmal/Sutton L 6-1, 6-2; #2 Prebeg/Huftel L 6-1, 6-1; #3 Alissa Brewer/Cassandra Plachetka L 6-2, 6-1.
Powerful Panthers
Nelson’s 6-3, 6-2 victory saved Merrill from a shut-out when it visited league-leading SPASH last Tuesday.
“I have to say that SPASH was pretty dominant in their play against us,” Thompson said. “Our only victory came at #4 singles.
“Katie Nelson played well again. She is starting to finish her opponents off more quickly rather than always being the last varsity match on the courts. She’s getting more successful at ending the rallies with decisive shots.”
Scores–Singles–#1 Raleigh L 6-0, 6-0; #2 Moonen L 6-4, 6-3; #3 Bayer L 6-2, 6-1; #4 Nelson W 6-3, 6-2. Doubles–#1 Purmal/Sutton L 6-1, 6-0; #2 Prebeg/Huftel L 6-0, 6-0; #3 Alissa Brewer/Cassandra Plachetka L 6-4, 6-1.
Merrill closed out the dual season with an 0-6 record, but is currently in sixth place in the standings, due to collecting more individual wins. The Jays lead Wausau East (5-1) by a 22-20 margin, and trail fifth-place Rapids by 16 points. The conference meet will be held at East on Thursday.