Seven straight-set victories helped the Park Rapids girls tennis team close out the regular season on a positive note with a 7-0 victory over Parkers Prairie in a match of Section 8A teams Thursday afternoon at the Depot Courts.
That win gave the Panthers a 10-10 overall record in dual meets and the No. 4 seed for the Section 8A tournament. Park Rapids opens section play Thursday morning by playing No. 5 Staples-Motley at 8 a.m. at Courts Plus in Fargo. Park Rapids edged Staples-Motley 4-3 in their only meeting during the regular season.
Thursday's other section quarterfinal matches will pit No. 1 Roseau against No. 8 Parkers Prairie at 9:30 a.m., No. 3 Crookston against No. 6 East Grand Forks at 11 a.m., and No. 2 Perham/New York Mills against No. 7 Wadena-Deer Creek at 12:30 p.m. The semifinals will follow at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with the championship match set for Friday at 9 a.m. Roseau is the defending section champion.
In the regular-season finale against Parkers Prairie, Natalie Kinkel (6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles), Tori Hilmanowski (6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles), Abby Morris (6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles) and Meagan Powers (6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles) posted singles victories.
Olivia Wallace and Kendra Coborn posted a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles; Gracie Eischens and Chloe Johnson posted a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles; and Jada Renneberg and Rachael Herman posted a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles to complete the sweep. Park Rapids also blanked Parkers Prairie 7-0 earlier in the season. Emma Miller and Kinley Nordin added a 6-1, 7-5 win in an exhibition doubles match.
ADVERTISEMENT
For the individual portion of the section tournament, which begins Friday following the team championship and concludes Saturday at Courts Plus, Kinkel received the No. 2 seed in singles while Johnson was the No. 14 seed in singles. Hilmanowski and Morris received the No. 7 seed in doubles while Wallace and Coborn received the No. 11 seed in doubles.
Earning the top seeds were Roseau's Jodi Ostroski in singles and Crookston's Ally Tiedemann and Amy Follette in doubles. Roseau's Lauren Johnson and Kate Wensloff received the No. 2 seed in doubles. Tiedemann and Follette defeated Johnson and Wensloff in last year's section title match.
Park Rapids 7, Parkers Prairie 0
No. 1 singles: Natalie Kinkel, PR, over Abby Burquest 6-1, 6-2.
No. 2 singles: Tori Hilmanowski, PR, over Madeline Schroeder 6-0, 6-1.
No. 3 singles: Abby Morris, PR, over Analise Marquardt 6-1, 6-0.
No. 4 singles: Meagan Powers, PR, over Adrianna Marotto 6-2, 6-4.
No. 1 doubles: Olivia Wallace/Kendra Coborn, PR, over Katelyn Schlosser/Megan Arens 6-2, 6-3.
ADVERTISEMENT
No. 2 doubles: Gracie Eischens/Chloe Johnson, PR, over Kaylee Esterberg/Kathryn Velde 6-1, 6-3.
No. 3 doubles: Jada Renneberg/Rachael Herman, PR, over Reghan DeBoer/Erica Woida 6-1, 6-3.
