The Pequot Lakes tennis team won for the fifth time in their first six matches after edging the host Little Falls 4-3 on Tuesday, Aug. 24. Then the Patriots won two of three matches on Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Pierz quadrangular - beating Pine City 5-2 and blanking Crosby-Ironton 7-0 before losing to the Pioneers 5-2.
The Patriots, who were scheduled to play at the Park Rapids on Tuesday, Aug. 31, were next scheduled to play at the Pierz quadrangular on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Patriots 4, Little Falls 3
The match featured a wild marathon contest at No. 3 singles where Brandi Bauer of the Flyers finally defeated Ellie Heggerston 7-6 (9-7) 2-6, 11-9.
In other singles play at No. 1 Tricia Villella defeated Molly Koesten 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2 Kaycee Nelson lost 7-5, 6-0 to Jamie Jenks and at No. 4 Haley Wiebolt beat Kristin Huck 6-1, 6-1.
The Patriots won two of three of the doubles matches as at No. 1 Brittny Breitbach-Nikki Hedtke got by Kaitlyn Emerson-Holly Kamp 6-2, 7-5; at No. 2 Taylor Crocker-Jayden Lindner were defeated 6-2, 6-1 by Carmen Backowski-Vi Dinh and at No. 3 Whitney Swenson-Lauren Bengston beat Makayla Jorgenson-Amanda Evens 6-4, 6-3.
"(The Flyers) used a different lineup than they did when we beat them 5-2 earlier (in the season), but we were able to adjust to it," Sergent said. "And we still were able to get a 4-3 win. We played well as a team, and Ellie (Heggerston) lost a tough, long match at No. 3 singles or we might have won by 5-2 again."
The Patriots played a couple of exhibition matches and came away with wins in both of them. Elle Erhotz-Carly Fyle, who had gone 3-0 at Pierz on Tuesday, beat Alyssa Athman-Tori McBee 6-1, 6-1; and Alex Nelson-Maria Schommer blanked Brianna Anderson-Brooke Bauer 6-0, 6-0.
Pierz quadrangular
The only wins for the Patriots in their loss to Pierz were at No. 4 singles Wiebolt, a seventh-grader, who improved to 6-0, and the No. 1 doubles team of Breitbach-Hedtke, who improved to 5-1.
In singles play, Villella compiled a 1-2 record, Kaycee Nelson was 2-1, Heggerston 2-1 and Wiebolt 3-0. In doubles, Breitbach-Hedtke, Lindner-Crocker and Swenson-Bengston were all 2-1.
"The girls are doing well, and are working hard and are learning form their mistakes," Sergent said after the Pierz quadrangular. "We hope to continue to do well. Our young players, like Haley (Wiebolt) are doing fine.
"Our No. 1 double team lost their first match in a tie-breaker at Pierz, but Nicci (Hedtke) and Brittny (Breitbach) are having a nice year."
