By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE — Doubles didn’t just mean twice the number of players on the court on Monday afternoon; it seemed to double the length of the matches at the Westwood High School courts, too.

With three doubles matches going a third set, Westwood pulled off a 7-1 victory over visiting Marquette in this marathon high school girls tennis meet.

“(Monday) was a beautiful day for tennis,” Westwood head coach Sarah Zindler said in an email detailing the results. “We had a lot of great battles, ending the day with an almost three-hour No. 1 doubles match.

“It’s great for these girls to be pushed and challenged at this point in the season.”

Marquette head coach Karl Thomsen had similar sentiments.

“If there is such a thing as a good loss, (Monday) was one of those days,” Thomsen said in his own email with the results. “We knew going in Westwood is one of the contenders for the (MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1) championship.

“I felt the girls really stepped up to the plate and competed.”

The featured match had to be at No. 1 doubles, where the Patriots’ Izzie Marta and Nolia Dawson held on for a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory over the Sentinels’ Payton Pleaugh and Lucy Stern.

“Izzie and Nolia faced a lot of momentum shifts in their match,” Zindler said. “They battled for three hours and I hope this win is a confidence boost for them.

“Knowing that everything isn’t always going to work on any given day and sometimes you just have to battle is something we’ve been talking about — finding a way to win despite what’s not going your way that day and just being mentally tough.”

Thomsen focused just as much on No. 2 doubles, where MSHS picked up its victory when the Sentinels’ Aubree Blackburn and Eva Kentala survived a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 match over Westwood’s Kaylin Doney and Eliisa Doney.

“Aubree Blackburn and Eva Kentala took another step in the right direction (Monday),” Thomsen said. “As well as they hit the ball, I thought their resiliency in the third set was the difference in the match.

“Payton Bullock at No. 1 singles and Payton Pleaugh and Lucy Stern at No. 1 doubles played the type of close matches that should build their confidence. Their opponents were some of the best in the U.P. and our girls played them tough. It’s shaping up to be a fun stretch run.”

Bullock lost in the most tightly contested two-setter, falling 7-5, 6-3 to the Pats’ Lexi Olson.

The other three-set match occurred at No. 4 doubles as WHS’ Kaya Etelemaki and Taylor Jackovich held off Marquette’s Stella Dehlin and Kirra Longtine 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Westwood swept the singles matches, with No. 2 Sami Ruby, No. 3 Hannah Niemi and No. 4 Morgan Schneider also winning, along with checking in with a victory with the No. 3 doubles tandem of Niila Nurmi and Emersyn Nelson, each decided in a bit more routine two sets.

The Patriots get right back out on the courts this afternoon hosting Gwinn, while Marquette’s next match is at home against Menominee on Thursday afternoon.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.