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Chisago Lakes 3, Fridley 4

At Fridley, September 26

“I knew this was going to be a close match going into it, and it sure turned out that way,” said Wildcat head coach Steve Otte.  “The three points we won, we won easily.  The points that we lost were close, but we didn’t get them. 

“Tennis is such a mental game, and some of the girls are starting to figure that out.  The players need to be mentally strong for every point.  If they’re not, the next thing they know they are losing the second set after winning the first,” Otte continued.

Summary / Coach’s Comments

1st Singles--Alyssa Lundberg won 6-2, 6-3.  Alyssa found a good match today. She was able to get into a rhythm with her ground strokes in this match.  When Alyssa stays on her feet and hits her shot, she is a much stronger player. She just needs to think about the small things while she is playing a match.

2nd Singles--Kristen Dobosenski lost 4-6, 0-6.  Dobo had a tough match today. The girl she played has been switching back and forth from first and second singles. It was a good gauge for her to see where she is against a 1st singles players. She was right there in the first set.

3rd Singles--Kristen Lee lost 3-6, 3-6.  Kristen played well but the other girl was able to keep the ball in play just one hit longer more than she did. 

4th Singles--Michelle Caneday lost 6-0, 0-6, 3-6.  Michelle dominated her player in the first set and then things totally flopped in the second set.  The third set turned out to be a back and forth match which went to Fridley.

1st Doubles--Kate Boynton/Tracy Schneider won 6-4, 6-1.  This team realized something today.  They don’t have to hit great shots to beat some teams.  Just by keeping the ball in play they were able to roll to a victory.

2nd Double --Jess Olson/Christina Leaf lost 4-6, 2-6.  These two are working hard but it just isn’t going their way this year.  I am thinking about having them play singles in the next match for a new approach for both of them.

3rd Doubles -- Gretchen Richter/Megan Corradi won 6-0, 4-6, 6-0.  Played great to get momentum back and finish off the match.

CL 3, North Branch 4

September 28 at North Branch

“I knew that North Branch had a very good player at first singles, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen when we got there.    Although the match was determined early, the end result turned out to be close.  We were quickly down 0-4 in points and then pulled out the last three by playing some good tennis,” said coach Otte.  

1st Singles--Alyssa Lundberg won 1-6, 1-6.  Alyssa played the second best player in the conference and played pretty good.  She mixed up some of her shoots and I feel that’s what she needs to work on to become a better player. Many of the players that have beaten her this year have done so because they can mix up their game well.  Alyssa has to be willing to change gears in a match to make her opponent think more and work harder to win.

2nd Singles--Kristen Dobosenski lost 6-7, 6-3, 6-1.  Kristen played well today. A lot of girls would crumble after losing the first set in a tie breaker, but she kept fighting and pulled out the match.  Nice Job!

3rd Singles--Jess Olson lost 0-6, 1-6.  Jess and Christina (Leaf) played singles.  They have been playing almost all doubles so far this year.  I could tell they were a little out of their element playing singles today.  They hit many balls into the doubles court because they were use to hitting there.  We’ll see how their next match goes at singles as they become more comfortable out there.

4th Singles--Christina Leaf lost 0-6, 1-6.

1st Doubles--Kate Boynton/Tracy Schneider won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.  These two pulled out a win today.  Sometimes they make tennis a little harder than what it is out there.  When they keep the ball in and use the angles on the court they are off and running.  When they forget, the match becomes a close match and they need to fight for every point.

2nd Doubles--Gretchen Richter/Megan Corradi lost 4-6, 3-6.  These two moved up from third singles to play today.  They played better as a second doubles team than they did as a third doubles team.  I was very impressed with their play.  They did a nice job using lobs to win points.

3rd Doubles--Ariel Novak/Jenna Dobosenski won 6-4, 7-5.  Ariel and Jenna have been playing a lot of exhibition doubles on the varsity this year.  Today they got their chance at third doubles.  They got out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set and then had a little bit of a tough time closing the door.  The second set was close also but they were able to pull it out in the end.  Nice job Ariel and Jenna!

The Wildcats will open Section play tomorrow (October 6). The time and location were yet to be determined when we went to press.

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