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When it comes to fall sports, girls tennis has the shortest amount of time to get ready for their season. How short? Just six days into their season, the Wildcats played their first matches of the year last Saturday, taking part in the River Falls (Wisc.) Invite. That short.

To make matters worse for the practice-deprived ‘Cats, two or the four teams in the tourney; River Falls and Hudson, started their season two weeks ago, giving them a decisive advantage.

That extra boost showed in the Wildcats first match of the tourney. Playing Hudson, Hudson won three of four tie-breakers in the match, allowing them to squeek out a narrow 4-3 win. Kara Orwoll posted the Wildcats only win in singles play, while Rachel Nelson and Rachel Meyer grabbed a win at number one doubles, and Nicole Nelson and Caitlyn Ryan added a win at number three doubles.

With their opening match out of the way, in terms of difficulty, the scale continued to rise as Chisago faced off with River Falls in match number two. This time around, the ‘Cats faired better in tie-breaker matches, winning one of two. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter. The Wildcats never got close enough to make it a match, falling 5-2. The ‘Cats two wins came at number four singles (Alyssa Lundberg) and number one singles (Sammi Schares and Val Brunette).

“I tried a different line-up for this match and it didn’t work out,” mentioned Steve Otte, Chisago Lakes head girls tennis coach. “But I was able to see some girls play some different positions on the court.”

In the third match of the day, Chisago Lakes got back to their Minnesota roots, facing power Woodbury in their last match of the tournament. To be blunt, Woodbury was good, sweeping all seven games en route to a 7-0 win. The ‘Cats best chance for a win came at number one singles, that’s where Schares fought her opponent from start to finish, however, Woodbury was able to pull out the win. The loss dropped the Wildcats season record to 0-3.

“Saturday’s matches were good for us because it showed the things we need to work on in the next two weeks,” replied Otte.

They will plenty of time to work on their game. After the Chisago Lakes Invite this week, the Wildcats face Mahtomedi, Spring Lake Park, and Hudson game. In addition, Chisago will take part in the White Bear Lake Invite as well.

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