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Chisago Lakes has held the upper hand in the county tennis rivalry for the last decade, but North Branch has been making some progress.

In their most recent meeting on Tuesday, September 4, the Wildcats triumphed 5-2, but there were plenty of fun matches that kept the girls interested until the very end.

The ‘Cats got out to an early lead with their first two singles players and two of their doubles teams. CL’s Malia McKinnon jumped all over Hollie Ohsorg of North Branch at second singles, winning 6-0, 6-0.

At second doubles, Molly Hill and Chloe Zupko of Chisago Lakes beat NB’s Anna Hudella and Becca Perales 6-1, 6-1.
But, the Vikings answered back with a quick win of their own when Chloe Moline beat CL’s Lauryn Lundberg at third singles 6-1, 6-1.

Alice Johnson and Jill Erickson got the Wildcats back on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win at first doubles, which set up CL with three points, needing just one more for the match win.

Greta Gillach and Sophie Smith, the first singles players, didn’t start until after McKinnon and Ohsorg were done, so their result would be the last of the day. North Branch picked up a second point when Miaya Volkman, a freshman, beat Alyssa Vanornum at fourth singles 6-2, 7-5 to move her record to 8-1 on the year.

That left the score at 3-2 in favor of Chisago Lakes, with a tight match at third doubles and Smith and Gillach just getting underway.

The ‘Cats sealed the deal when Victoria Rogers and Hope Dorcas beat NB’s Hailey Bistodeau and Katelyn Pascavage at third doubles 7-6 (7-6), 6-3.

Gillach put the exclamation point on the Wildcat win with a 6-1, 6-3 win over sophomore Smith.

“It has been a great season so far, and these athletes have been wonderful to coach,” Chisago Lakes Head Coach Jon Erickson said. “Our singles lineup has been performing well with young athletes that are only getting better.

“Our doubles lineup is benefitting from solid performances from our seniors and the veteran players have been doing a wonderful job mentoring the young girls.”

“It was another great match for our team,” North Branch Head Coach Joel Santjer said despite the loss. “It was a hard fought match and many of the matches were close. We saw great growth today from our young team.”

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