Jones advances to State Tennis Tournament

Clear Lake’s Gretchen Jones earned her second trip to the State tennis tournament by finishing first in the Regional tourney held Wednesday, May 16, in Decorah.

With a number one seed and first round bye, Jones defeated Josie Kleckner, of  Decorah, 6-1 6-1 in Second Round action.  In the semi-finals, she battled Waverly’s Olivia Phillips for every point until she forced and won a tie breaker to take the first set 7-6 (7-5).

“Getting past the first set built the momentum and set the stage for the rest of the day,” said Coach Mary Jo Peterson.

Jones then went on to finish off the second set 6-0 and secure her state tournament spot.

After qualifying for the State tournament, Jones then played Waverly’s Hannah Folkerts and defeated her, 6-3, 6-0 to take the first place Regional spot, which will help with her consideration for a seed at the State Tournament.  State will held in Waterloo at Byrnes Park, May 30-31.

“Gretchen stayed strong mentally and outperformed her competition to finish first.”

The rest of the Lions squad played very competitive matches at the Regional competition, as well.

The third seeded doubles team of Chloe Mueller and Maranda Harrison had excellent matches all day, but unfortunately fell only a few games short of a state qualification.  In first round action, they defeated the Charles City team of McKenzie Wilson and Taylor Walters, 6-2, 6-0, to move on.   Waverly’s team of Sadie Hanson and Ashlyn Hughes presented a challenge, as they split sets 3-6, 6-3, but Mueller and Harrison battled through a third set of 6-4 to move on to the semis.   

In the semi-finals they met a talented number two seeded Decorah team, Kaitlyn Yee and Vita Domnenko.  After falling behind the first set 2-6, they pushed through and gained momentum to take set two 6-1, again forcing another tie-breaking third set on the day.  However, despite great points and many deuce games, Mueller and Harrison fell 3-6 in the third, just missing their State trip goal.   

“With a 10-1 overall record, this team has had a great season, one they should be very proud of,” said Coach Peterson.

The consolation match, which gave them a fourth place regional finish, was senior Chloe Mueller’s final match.

“Chloe has been a great asset and positive leader to this team throughout the past four years.  She’ll be missed,” said Peterson.

Seniors Mikayla Brant and Irene Swanson also had much success throughout the season and at the Regional meet.  Brant and Swanson played great tennis and defeated the Hampton team of Jadin Beyer and Erin Plagge, 6-4, 6-3.  The duo then met the number one seeded Waverly team, which proved too much and an end to their season, losing 6-0, 6-0.

“Both Mikayla and Irene have also achieved much success over the years and will also be missed,” added the coach.

Singles player Julia Merfeld also played excellent at the tournament.  Although Merfeld met and fell 6-2, 6-2 to a tough first round seeded opponent, Hailey Gentz of Osage, she stepped up her game for tough points and many deuce games.

“Julia has continued to improve with every match and will be a positive contributor to next year’s squad,” said Peterson.

The Regional meet concluded the overall season for the Lions, who finished with a 9-1 team record.