By Kylie Coffin, Co Editor-in-Chief
Posted October 12th, 2015
Slinger’s girls’ tennis team had a busy last week as varsity team members battled competitors at both the subsectional and sectional meetings. Slinger tied for third place at the subsectional which was held at Pleasant Valley Tennis and Fitness Club on October 6. All of the 10 varsity players competed. Doubles and singles players at the one position needed to secure just one win, while twos, threes, and fours needed two victories to advance to sectionals. Both of Slinger’s ones dominated their competition with huge wins that saved them a seat at sectionals. At one singles, Emma Sievers was a two seed going into the subsectional and defeated Plymouth handily. Slinger’s number one doubles duo of Josie Bjorklund and Kate Wallschlaeger were seeded at four and crushed Beaver Dam’s doubles team. Seniors Rachel Daniels, Kylie Coffin, McKenna Gartzke, Olivia Boden, and Julia Foxx finished their tennis careers as Owls at the subsectional, despite securing several big team points with first round wins. Rachel Daniels was a two seed at two singles and crushed her Port Washington competitor for a win, but lost in a well-played second match against West Bend West. As a one seed at three singles, Kylie Coffin quickly defeated West Bend West in her first round, but did not pull out a win against West Bend East to advance. After several hard-fought games, McKenna Gartzke with a two seed at four singles, fell to a tough West Bend East player. Julia Foxx and Olivia Boden had a three seed at two doubles and with the strong support of a Slinger crowd, pulled out a spectacular three set win against West Bend West in their first round. Unfortunately this year-long doubles team did not beat Hartford in their second round to advance. Maggie Aumann and Victoria Volkmann played at three doubles and pulled out a victory against Port Washington in their first round, and fell to Beaver Dam in their second match. Both Aumann and Volkmann will be returning for the team in the 2016 season.
Sectionals were held on a rainy Thursday morning in Neenah on October 8. Emma Sievers, Josie Bjorklund, and Kate Wallschlaeger fought to keep their high school tennis careers alive. Despite not advancing, a majority of the varsity tennis team drove an hour to watch their teammates compete. Sievers faced off against a skilled Appleton competitor while Bjorklund and Wallschlaeger took on a fierce Neenah duo. All Slinger girls played with an immense amount of heart and fire but ultimately fell to worthy competition. Slinger had a strong tennis season, finishing third in the Little Ten conference and making all teams struggle for wins over them.
