Aberdeen Christian battled one of the state’s Class A tennis powers before falling to Sioux Falls Christian 6-3 on Saturday at the Holgate Tennis Courts.
“I think that’s the best A team we’ve seen,” said Central coach John Vogel, as the Golden Eagles prepare for the Eastern South Dakota Conference Tournament on Monday and Tuesday. “To play them fairly even, is a really great prep for ESD.”
Central had a strong showing in doubles, winning two of the three flights and almost grabbing the other.
“I was really impressed with our moving,” Vogel said of the doubles action. “We have been stressing it.”
Junior Mady Holman was a double winner on the day for Central, winning her fifth flight singles in straight sets and then pulling out a win at flight three doubles with Annaliese Wells.
“I was really just focused … on staying positive and telling myself I’ve got this,” Holman said of her singles match. “I can’t count how many times I said it.”
Wells had a long singles match, eventually falling in a super tiebreaker, but bounced back in the doubles match.
“Going into doubles, I was kind of weary, because I knew Ann had a really tough match and I knew that I had to bring her back up and had to build her back up,” Holman said. “But, I’m really proud of how both of us played in that.”
Holman has gotten more aggressive at the net and it showed up in the doubles victory.
“That’s one thing I know Vogel has tried to get me to do throughout my whole tennis career is be more aggressive,” Holman said, “because I know I have the capabilities, too, but I just haven’t done it.”
Central also picked up a win at second flight doubles where the team of Sarah Knie and Estelle Riggs pulled out two hard-fought sets to claim the win.
Riggs does not back off from hitting powerful strokes, regardless of the score in a match.
“For some of it, I was trying to go not as fast as I usually do, because I was getting nervous,” Riggs said, “but after a while I just started hitting it as hard as I could.”
In the end, there was little finesse in the match as both teams continued to pound the ball at each other, going strength for strength.
“I started to get very nervous at the end when they started coming back,” Riggs said, “but I think once we got the hang of it again, because they were hitting very hard back at us, so I think we had to hit way harder back.”
The Golden Eagles will compete in the ESD tourney Monday and Tuesday, and then finish off the season at the State AA Tournament the following week in Sioux Falls.
“I’m really excited to play because it’s my first varsity singles for ESD and state,” Riggs said, “and so I’m really excited to play.”
Sioux Falls Christian 6, Aberdeen Central 3
SINGLES
Anna Westenberg, SFC, def. Avery Tennant, 6-2, 7-5.
Mackenzie Boyle, SFC, def. Sarah Knie, 6-3, 6-1.
Eisley Roark, SFC, def. Chloe Ladner, 6-2, 6-1.
Dani VanderDussen, SFC, def. Estelle Riggs, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.
Mady Holman, AC, def. Sophia Heynen, 6-2, 6-3.
Piper DeBoer, SFC, def. Annaliese Wells, 3-6, 6-0, (10-8).
DOUBLES
Westenberg-Boyle, SFC, def. Tennant-Ladner, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
Knie-Riggs, AC, def. Roark-VanderDussen, 7-5, 7-5.
Homan-Wells, AC, def. Heynen-DeBoer, 6-2, 7-5.
