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MARQUETTE -- Marquette swept the doubles flights and pulled out a victory in the meet's only three-set match to post a 7-1 victory over visiting West Iron County in a high school girls tennis meet held Wednesday.
"I was really happy with the resilience we had at several flights," Sentinels head coach Karl Thomsen said in an email detailing the meet. "Finding that ability to fight through the slumps is what we will need heading down the stretch."
He said as the fall tennis season is just about half over, with the first matches held in mid-August and the MHSAA Upper Peninsula finals set for the very end of this month or first few days of October.
Marquette No. 3 singles player Nora Skytta won Wednesday's longest match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 over the Wykons' Haleigh Lemay.
Thomsen was also happy with a 6-1, 6-4 victory posted by MSHS No. 2 singles player Kirra Longtine over WIC's Ashlynn Nichols, along with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph put up by the Sentinels No. 3 doubles pairing of Lola Rink and Morgan Downey over the Wykons' Reese Ahola and Vivian Holm.
"Kirra Longtine is a tough soccer player and that mentality shined through on the tennis courts," her coach said. "Kirra hit some turbulence in the second set. To her credit, she settled down, adjusted her strategy and got on a roll to close out the match.
"Over at No. 3 doubles, Morgan Downey and Lola Rink played a match that was a little closer than the score indicates. It was great to see those two bear down and win the key points."
The rest of Marquette's sweep in doubles included wins by No. 1 Eva Kentala and Charlotte Thomsen, No. 2 Eva Dewitt and Charlye Swajanen, and No. 4 Grace Jandreau and Brynn Helman.
MSHS is back on its home courts this afternoon against Negaunee.
Westwood 8, Gladstone 0
On Monday at Westwood, the Patriots had a somewhat surprising domination over one of the Upper Peninsula's Division 1 quality teams in the Braves.
"I was really proud of my girls ... for pulling off an 8-0 win against a solid team like Gladstone," Patriots head coach Sarah Zindler said in an email detailing her result. "I think Division 1 U.P.'s are going to be a lot of fun this year, given the amount of quality tennis we've seen in each match we've played so far against those schools."
The coach was particularly happy with the play of her No. 3 singles player Emmi Carlson, who won 6-1, 7-5 over the Braves' Lilly Ketcham.
"Emmi Carlson played a fantastic No. 3 singles match," Zindler said. "Her opponent hit with a lot of pace for a No. 3 singles flight and Emmi handled it with confidence."
Two Westwood victories came in three sets, each clinched with a dominating final set.
The No. 4 doubles tandem of Brie Mahaffey and Jenna Marana posted a 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 win over Gladstone's Reese Lovell and Miranda Drielick, while No. 2 singles player Eliisa Doney won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 over the Braves' Madison Sundquist.
"(No.) 4 (doubles) had to battle ... through three sets," Zindler said. "Jenna and Brie are both freshman figuring things out with the more experience they get.
"It's exciting to see them have the grit to grind through a tough three-set match like they did.
"Eliisa Doney played a long match at No. 2 singles.... She adjusted to her opponent as the match went on to figure out what was working and what wasn't.
"We haven't had to play in a lot of heat and humidity this season, so I was proud of her for keeping her energy level up and her feet moving when she was getting tired and things were close."
Westwood was listed as hosting Ishpeming in a meet on Friday afternoon, though some reports showed the match to be today.
Marquette 7, WIC 1
Wednesday at Marquette
SINGLES -- No. 1, Grace Smith (W) def. Stella Dehlin 6-4, 6-0; No. 2, Kirra Longtine (M) def. Haleigh Lemay 6-1, 6-4; No. 3, Nora Skytta (M) def. Ashlynn Nichols 6-1, 4-6, 6-2; No. 4, Sydney Kuhl (M) def. Anastasia Dubiak 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Eva Kentala-Charlotte Thomsen (M) def. Rochelle Bear-Marlee Benson 6-1, 6-0; No. 2, Eva Dewitt-Charlyee Swajanen (M) def. Jenna Sunn-Lucy Farley 6-1, 6-4; No. 3, Lola Rink-Morgan Downey (M) def. Reese Ahola-Vivian Holm 6-1, 6-2; No. 4, Grace Jandreau-Brynn Helman (M) def. Tessa Stapleton-Zoe Donati 6-0, 6-0
Westwood 8, Gladstone 0
Monday at Westwood
SINGLES -- No. 1, Lyn Magnuson (W) def. Carly Maki 6-2, 6-1; No. 2, Eliisa Doney (W) def. Madison Sundquist 6-3, 4-6, 6-1; No. 3, Emmi Carlson (W) def. Lilly Ketcham 6-1, 7-5; No. 4, Isabel Belpedio (W) def. Aylah Seder 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES -- No. 1, Ella Stacy-Tessa Burke (W) def. Lola Vargo-Ella Howes 6-1, 6-1; No. 2, Makenna Olson-Lauren Michaud-Richards (W) def. Elle Mathias-Makenzie Nelson 6-3, 6-3; No. 3, Emerson Williams-Ava Wolf (W) def. Tati Martinez-Caitlin Winkler 6-3, 6-2; No. 4, Brie Mahaffey-Jenna Marana (W) def. Reese Lovell-Miranda Drielick 6-4, 5-7, 6-0
Story contents based on emails received from Marquette Senior High School tennis coach Karl Thomsen and Westwood tennis coach Sarah Zindler. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.