There was some good news from Park Rapids’ 5-2 loss to Perham/New York Mills in a Section 8A girls tennis quarterfinal match at Perham on Monday, Oct. 6.
Despite being eliminated from playing for the section title, the Panthers will get to play at least one more match at home in pursuit of winning the section consolation crown.
It was a near repeat from their regular-season meeting as Park Rapids’ Abby Morris claimed a straight-set win at No. 1 singles and Rachael Herman prevailed by winning a third-set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles. In the Yellowjackets’ 5-2 victory in the first meeting, Morris won in straight sets at No. 1 singles while Mickey Clark and Macy Goochey won a third-set tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles. Perham/New York Mills, the No. 4 seed, won the other five matches in straight sets in both meetings.
Morris’ 6-4, 6-0 win over Kiera Radniecki and Herman’s 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 win over Avery Beachy accounted for the two wins by the No. 5-seeded Panthers. Morris also defeated Radniecki in the first meeting while Herman avenged a straight-set loss to Beachy.
Perham/New York Mills won the other two singles matches in straight sets as Mallory Belka defeated Morgan Koppelman 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles and Jaden Hackel defeated Shailyn Hayes 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.
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LaVonne Lindberg and Kendra Moris avenged the loss to Clark and Goochey with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles. Katie Johnson and Maggie Trites defeated Cassidy Bera and Emily Schulz 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 doubles while Mya Radniecki and Grayce Mickelson defeated Hannah Morgan and Taylor Dravis 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.
The loss dropped the Panthers to 3-5 against section opponents and 4-8 overall. P/NYM improved to 7-5.
In the other quarterfinal matches, No. 1 Crookston blanked No. 8 Parkers Prairie 7-0, No. 2 Thief River Falls defeated No. 7 Roseau 6-1 and No. 3 East Grand Forks defeated No. 6 Wadena-Deer Creek 6-1.
Park Rapids will host Parkers Prairie in a consolation semifinal match at the Depot Courts on Thursday (Oct. 8). The championship semifinals and the other consolation semifinal match will also held on Oct. 8 with the winners advancing to the section championship and consolation championship matches on Tuesday (Oct. 13) at the high seeds.
Perham/New York Mills 5, Park Rapids 2
No. 1 singles: Abby Morris, PR, over Kiera Radniecki 6-4, 6-0.
No. 2 singles: Rachael Herman, PR, over Avery Beachy 5-7, 6-4, 10-4.
No. 3 singles: Mallory Belka, PNYM, over Morgan Koppelman 6-1, 6-1.
No. 4 singles: Jaden Hackel, PNYM, over Shailyn Hayes 6-0, 6-0.
No. 1 doubles: LaVonne Lindberg/Kendra Moris, PNYM, over Mickey Clark/Macy Goochey 6-2, 6-2.
No. 2 doubles: Katie Johnson/Maggie Trites, PNYM, over Cassidy Bera/Emily Schulz 6-2, 6-3.
No. 3 doubles: Mya Radniecki/Grayce Mickelson, PNYM, over Hannah Morgan/Taylor Dravis 6-0, 6-1.
