Red Oak girls tennis battles way into regional final
ATLANTIC — It took a bit of a fight, but it’s back to the regional finals for the Red Oak girls’ tennis team after they powered through to defeat the Clarinda Cardinals 5-3 in the semifinals Saturday in Atlantic.
Red Oak scored wins in four of six singles matches and clinched it in doubles.
The clinching win for Red Oak came courtesy of the No. 2 doubles team of Kate Walker and Sarah Behrens, who won 6-2 and 6-2 over Abby Brown and Maddie Hartley.
Grace Blomstedt and Micayla Taylor were leading in their match against Kayla Rogers and Sarah Cabun when the meet ended. It was the only match that wasn’t completed.
In singles, it was Walker defeating Rogers 6-1 and 6-2. Blomstedt defeated Cabun in straight sets as well. She won the first set 6-4 and rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in the second to win 7-6 (1). Taylor meanwhile had the third win with a 6-2 and 6-1 victory over Brown.
Jordyn Cornelison overcame a second set loss to win the crucial fourth match in a super tiebreaker. Cornelison defeated Hartley 6-3, 3-6 and 1-0 (11).
Red Oak began the morning Saturday with a 5-0 win over Atlantic. The clinching win was picked up in doubles as Blomstedt and Taylor defeated Codi Hitch and Jena Brosam 6-0 and 6-0. Two of the singles matches weren’t completed, but MaKayla LeRette was able to get a 6-1 and 6-0 win over Carly Westphalen. Cornelison was up one set against Heather Freund.
Walker and Blomstedt both won their singles in 6-0 and 6-0 fashion. Walker defeated Hitch, while Blomstedt defeated Brosam. Taylor defeated Olivia Davis 6-1 and 6-0, while Behrens defeated Bailey Steffins 6-0 and 6-1.
Red Oak will now get ready for a rematch against Shenandoah Saturday. The Tigers lost the first meeting to Shenandoah, 6-3, on April 21. A first-round state berth is on the line for the Tigers. The regional final will be Saturday at 9 a.m. at Shenandoah High School.
Before then, the girls’ team will host the regional singles and tennis meet Thursday starting at 9 a.m. at Red Oak High School.
Red Oak also competed in the Hawkeye 10 meet Monday. Results weren’t available as of press time.
Boys
The trend of a state qualifier for the boys team continues on as Weston Rolenc will be a singles qualifier for the boys state tournament.
Rolenc defeated Ryan Kucera of Creston in the district final Thursday night. Rolenc won the match 6-3 and 6-4 to get the victory.
Rolenc began the tournament with a 6-0 and 6-0 first round win over Christian Baer of St. Albert. In the quarterfinals, Rolenc defeated Dallas Lathan 6-0 and 6-2. Rolenc ensured himself a top two finish with a 6-2 and 6-1 semifinal win over Zack Kirkpatrick of Glenwood.
The win was big as it was the conclusion of a rough week for the boys team. Red Oak finished 11th at last Monday’s Hawkeye 10 meet with two points. The team of Donnie Torbett and Jesse Taylor were the only place winners for Red Oak at the meet last week in Council Bluffs. Torbett and Taylor took seventh in No. 2 doubles.
Most of the singles field is filled. However results aren’t available from the Boone District meet, which took place Monday. The current district champions in the field include Nick Podhajsky of Atlantic, Sam Stickels of Maharshi-Fairfield, Cam Long of Dubuque-Wahlert, Alex Kahldahl of Spencer, Tanner Atkinson of Camanche and Sam Jones of Clear Lake.
Rolenc will be competing in the state singles tournament May 29 and 30 at the Byrnes Park Tennis Complex in Waterloo.
Despite Rolenc’s finish, the boys didn’t place in the top three. Glenwood won, with Creston finishing second and St. Albert placing third. Creston defeated St. Albert in the opening round of the team tennis tournament Saturday.