Jones on to State

(Above) Clear Lake’s Gretchen Jones will advance as an individual to the State Tennis Meet.  -Photo courtesy of Darron Jones

Gretchen Jones fought her way to earn a runner-up finish and her first trip to the State Tennis Meet in girls’ regional action in Waverly Thursday, May 18.

With a number two seed and first round bye, Jones first battled Waverly-Shell Rock’s Ashlyn Hughes, eventually defeating her 6-2, 6-2.

In the semi-finals, Jones outpaced Osage’s Klaire Chisholm 6-4, 6-0.

After securing a spot for the state tournament, she then lost to Decorah’s Kally Peterson 1-6, 2-6, to become the regional runner up.

“Gretchen has continued to step up her singles game with each match. It was nice to see her move on to the next level,” said Co-Head Coach Mary Jo Peterson.

The State Tournament will be held June 1-2 in Iowa City.

In other district matches, the fourth seeded doubles team of Kiersten Baalson and Chloe Mueller faced a tough draw, but battled their way to the semi-finals. In first round action, they played smart and consistent tennis to hold on and defeat Decorah’s Mara Freiden and Allison Groux, 6-1, 6-4.   After a second round win over St. Edmond’s Rachael Blair and Jaque Oberg, 6-1, 6-1, they moved on to face the number one seed from Waverly.  Despite some great points, the team couldn’t hold on and were defeated 6-1, 6-0.  After a tough consolation round against another

Waverly team, they finished fourth out of 16 teams.

“These girls have played well all season and have had much success,” noted Coach Peterson.

The competition was also senior Kiersten Baalson’s last match on the courts.

“Kiersten has been such a positive leader on our team for many years. We appreciate all her hard work and dedication. She’ll be missed,” said Peterson.

Singles player Maranda Harrison played well and advanced to second round action after defeating St. Edmond’s Madison Tarbox 6-2, 6-0.  She met first seed Kally Peterson, of Decorah, before bowing out 6-1, 6-0.

Senior Ali Witt and Mikayla Brant also competed in doubles. Although the team played many deuce points and close games, they fell first round to Osage’s Hailey Gentz and Tayler Adams 6-2, 6-0. This team has continued to improve with every match, but concludes their season.

“Ali has been a great role model and has continued to make a difference for our team. We wish her every success in the future,” said Peterson.

The Lions finished their season with a 7-3 record.