Albert Lea tennis defeats Austin in coldest meet of the year

Published 9:47 pm Tuesday, September 25, 2018

The Albert Lea girls’ tennis team hosted Austin Tuesday afternoon in one of the coldest meets of the year so far.

The cold didn’t phase the Tigers at all, however, as they cruised to a victory over Austin to grab their third win of the season, 6-1.

Albert Lea won all four of its singles matches against Austin, starting with senior Lexus Saltou in the No. 1 spot. Saltou won her first set handily 6-0, before taking a much closer second set 7-6. Junior Samantha Skarstad won in the No. 2 slot, 6-3, 6-1; sophomore Shelby Hanson won in the No. 3 position, 6-1, 6-2; and junior Madison Prihoda won at No. 4 in three sets, 7-6, 3-6, 15-13.

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On the doubles side, juniors Brooke Maier and Kaedyn Kirchner notched another win for the Tigers, 6-4, 6-2; and sophomores Hannah Conn and Allison Dulitz picked up the win in No. 3 doubles 6-4, 6-1.

The only loss on the day for the Tigers came from the duo of junior Carley Talamantes and sophomore Dominica Eckstrom. However, the pair played a tough match, coming up just short 6-4, 7-5.

“It was cold, but it was a great day,” said head coach Therese Netzer. “Dominating today was exactly how I’d hoped to finish the last conference match of the season. We need to be strong going into Big Nine Saturday, and the girls played well. We still have a lot to work on in practice, but it was nice to see determination and confidence from the girls today.”

The Tigers improve to 3-9 on the season and will play again Thursday in Waseca.

About Tyler Julson

Tyler Julson covers sports for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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