Photo by Jake McNeill Marshall’s Makayli Burrell, left, returns a serve as her doubles partner Julia Pafko looks on during a match against Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd in Marshall Friday morning. Burrell and Pafko won their match in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-4, but LQPV/DB defeated Marshall in the head-to-head match, 4-3.
MARSHALL – The Marshall tennis team hosted Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd and Tri-City United for its first home match Friday morning. Despite playing as competitively as they have all season, the Tigers missed out on their first win of the year, losing 4-3 to LQPV/DB and 5-2 to TCU.
“We talked a lot as a team about how we can improve day by day,” Marshall head coach Alex Cleppe said after the games: “The Tigers only brought back three players from last year, so with one injury the team now has eight girls playing their first games in the first team.” “It’s a little bit of a shock for each of them because it’s a little bit harder than it was at the JV level. So every game we just talk about improving and working through some of the issues that come with moving from JV to Varsity.”
Cleppe added that he felt the team’s performance was good overall, pointing out that the group forced three tiebreaker sets against TCU, leaving many games that could have gone either way.
“It’s one thing to play, but it’s another thing to figure out how to finish. That’s why our kids are working on being better at finishing.” said Cleppe.
Marshall drops to 0-6 overall with the two losses. They now prepare for a busy week starting on Monday, which will see them play three doubles and a foursome in five days, all away.
“It goes very quickly,” said Cleppe. “We have a lot of games and not a lot of practice time for these kids. It’s a lot about learning what we’ve learned and applying it. Other than before our games on Monday, we’re not going to have a lot of time to go out and do a lot on the court. So we’re just going to take the things we learned today and try to find some time in practice or warming up before the game on Monday to apply it, solve it and do our best.”
Marshall begins with games against MACCRAY and St. Peter on Monday at 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. After the Tigers have Wednesday off, they face Redwood Valley on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and finish the week with a quad game on Friday at Mankato East High School, where Marshall plays Mankato West at 11:00 a.m. and East at 1:00 p.m.
LQPV/DB 4, Marshall 3
In Marshall’s first duel of the day against Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd, every point counted. The Tigers won two of their three doubles matches, but lost all but the best singles pair, losing 4-3.
Taylor DePover earned the team’s only singles win in the match with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Hannah Oie, but Marshall then lost all of her other three matches.
Marshall had an advantage in singles after their No. 2 player, Justine Kirst, was injured in the season opener, forcing all of Marshall’s other singles players to play in a higher pairing.
“I’m going to steal a bit of a mantra from football, where they say ‘next man’s turn’. In tennis we say ‘next girl’s turn’, because that’s just our benchmark.” said Cleppe. “It was a shame that Justine got injured after one game in her first match… but we tried with guys who just need to play one place higher and then they are competitive. That’s all I can ask for.”
Kathryn Coudron started well in the No. 3 singles, winning the first set 6-4. However, Elsie Wiebe then equalized with a 6-1 win in the second set and took a 10-2 victory in the tiebreak.
Aubrey Schaefer lost her second singles match to Kayla Jahn in straight sets, while eighth-grader Kyra Bailey lost 6-1, 6-0 to junior Alexis Olesen.
“(Schaefer) is currently competing for us in two singles and she is not going to let herself be beaten easily,” said Cleppe. “She moves her feet, she has good contact with her groundstroke and she just works to find a way to win these matches.”
Peyton Boeck and Emry Weller picked up the first of Marshall’s two doubles victories with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Val Piotter and Maya Virji in second doubles. Makayli Burrell and Julia Pafko also picked up a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Macy Moen and Bri Morstad in third doubles.
TCU 5, Marshall 2
Taylor DePover was responsible for both of Marshall’s singles victories on the day, with a win over Tri-City United in Friday’s first home game. Her efforts were not enough, however, as Marshall still lost 5-2 to the Titans.
DePover won both of her sets against Ellie Adams 6-1, but TCU tied the match when Anne Cooper defeated Aubrey Schaefer by the same score.
Kathryn Coudron lost two close matches against Reagan Steffen 6:4, 6:4, while Kyra Bailey lost to Clara Leonard 6:3, 6:2.
“Today I talked to (Bailey) about how JV was a thing, and I think you’re starting to see the difference between JV and Varsity, and she’s gotten better every single game,” Cleppe said his main focus was on progress for all of his players. “Take something from every game, add it to your game and get better every day.”
Peyton Boeck and Emry Weller picked up their second win of the day in second doubles. The duo lost the first set to Avery Lerfald and Addie Houn 6-1, but picked up a 6-4 win in the second set and a 10-8 win in the tiebreak.
Three-set matches were a theme in the doubles duels. Olivia DeGroot and Jazilyn Stienberg-Jones split the first two sets of their match against Ava Flintrop and Avery Lerfald 6-4 and 3-6 before winning the tiebreaker 10-7.
In doubles No. 3, Makayli Burrell and Julia Pafko won the first set 6-2 before losing the second set 6-4 and the tiebreak 10-7.
