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The Wildcat tennis team ended its conference season with a 5-2 loss at Irondale Tuesday October 2. The loss left the 'Cats with a 5-5 North Suburban Conference record.

"Irondale is a strong team that is near the top in the NSC," said CL head coach Steve Otte. "The Wildcats changed the lineup for this match. The team stacked its doubles team to try and sweep all the doubles and then, hopefully, win a point at third or fourth singles. The match didn't work out as was hoped and the team lost to Irondale."

Meet Summary/Coach's Comments

Singles

1 Kristen Lee lost 0-6, 0-6.

Kristen was put in a tough spot moving from third singles to one singles. Her opponent has not lost a match all year. Kristen worked hard at every point but her opponent was just way to much for her.

2 Megan Corradi lost 3-6, 0-6.

Megan was down 0-3 and then fought back to 3-4 and was right in the match. She had her opponent frustrated for a few games. Her opponent stepped it up from there and walked away with the match.

3 Ali Turnquist lost 1-6, 1-6.

4 Michelle Caneday lost 0-6, 1-6.

This was a tough match for Michelle because she has been playing a lot of doubles lately. Now she moved to singles and has a smaller court to hit into and needed to cover more court. After the match, she mentioned that she preferred doubles a lot more.

Doubles

1 Tracy Schneider/Alyssa Lundberg won 6-0, 6-1.

This is the first time these two have been doubled up together and they played really well. Almost all easy balls were put away with authority and the point was over.

2 Jess Olson/Kristen Dobosenski lost 7-5, 4-6, 10-12.

Jess and Kristen also were paired up for the first time this year. Dobo has been playing second singles all year. The team got off to a slow start and were down 1-5 in the first set. They went on a run and won the set 7-5. Irondale got just enough momentum to win the big points and pull out the win at two doubles.

3D Christina Leaf/Gretchen Richter won 6-3, 6-3.

These two are on a great run over the last few matches. They have been playing really well together and do a great job of communicating with each other on the court. Great job Christina and Gretchen!

Otte added, "The team had a great conference season. They finished right in the middle of the conference with a five-and-five record. I would like to thank the seniors on the team for all the hard work that they have put in over the years. They are Kori Sells, Emily Tworoski, Megan Corradi, Gretchen Richter, Christina Leaf, Kristen Lee, Jess Olson, Tracy Schneider, Kristen Dobosenski and Alyssa Lundberg. They have done an awesome job and have proven how much fun being part of a tennis team can be."

Section 7AA team play began Monday, October 8. Chisago Lakes earned the fourth seed, meaning that its first section opponent, fifth seeded St. Francis, played at Chisago Lakes. "This is the first time that the Wildcats will host a first round match in a very long, long time," Otte added. The Wildcats beat the Saints 6-1 and advanced to a second round match-up with Forest Lake Tuesday, October 9. For details of those matches, see next weeks Press.

Section 7AA individual play was scheduled for Wednesday,October 10 at Gold's Gym in St. Cloud. Playing singles for the Wildcats are Alyssa Lundberg and Kristen Dobosenski. Playing doubles are Tracy Schneider/Jess Olson and Christina Leaf/Gretchen Richter. Players who get through the two rounds will play in the Section 7AA Individual Tournament next week in Hibbing.

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