There are inklings of big things to come for the Packers tennis team.

Wednesday, September 15, 1999

There are inklings of big things to come for the Packers tennis team.

They defeated the Owatonna Huskies 6-1 Tuesday at Wescott Field. The victory improved their Big Nine Conference record to 4-0. They are 5-3 overall.

This year’s Packers are young, but very experienced. Nine of the top 10 players on the squad are either sophomores or freshman. Amber Dolphin is the lone senior.

At No. 1 singles is sophomore Laurie Alonso. Alonso played at No. 1 as an eighth-grader and at No. 2 as a freshman behind Karen Darveaux. With all that experience against tough competition she is definitely one of the top players in the Big Nine. She won 6-2, 6-3 over sophomore Beth Standke Tuesday and is 7-0 in singles for the year.

At No. 2 singles, is freshman Amy Kelly, another seasoned pro. Last year, she battled with the top players in the HVL at No. 1 singles for Pacelli. Kelly whipped through her match against Owatonna in about 30 minutes without dropping a game. She also is an impressive 7-0 in singles.

At No. 3 singles is sophomore Emily Bue. Bue celebrated her 16th birthday Tuesday with a victory on the courts to push her record to 7-1. She also got her driver’s license. Bue is in her second year at No. 3.

At No. 4 singles is freshman Betsy Hingeveld. Hingeveld played a tough two set match put came up on the short end of a 7-5, 6-3 score.

At No. 1 doubles is the sophomore duo of Mindy Neilon and Chelsea McColley. This is the second year of their partnership. As freshman they played No. 3. They went three sets in their match. After dropping the first set 6-2 they came back to win the next two 6-1, 6-4. In the third set the Austin duo went ahead 5-2 but then lost the next two games. They broke serve in the final game of the match with some relentless returning forcing a double fault on match point.

"We stayed focused and got ourselves under control," Neilon said.

"Mindy had some hot serving in the last two sets," her coach Deb Hoyt said.

At No. 2 doubles, another sophomore duo, Tiffany Ankeny and Lindy Swedberg, won 6-2, 6-3. They, along with Hingeveld are the only members of the team who did not have varsity experience before this year.

Finally, at No. 3 doubles Dolphin and sophomore Claire Johnson won 6-3, 6-3.

Another big test for the Packers comes this Thursday when they travel to Mankato to face off with East. The Cougars are led by Briggs Rolfsrud and her little sister Breck. Briggs was mentioned as a player to watch in this week’s Star Tribune Prep tennis roundup. It shouldn’t be too long before Alonso and Kelly will be listed.

Austin 6, Owatonna 1

Singles

No. 1 Laurie Alonso (A) def. Beth Standke, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 2 Amy Kelly (A) def. Kaylan Vedder, 6-0, 6-0

No. 3 Emily Bue (A) def. Molly Hunt, 6-1, 6-2.

No. 4 Kaylan Stormo (O) def. Betsy Hingeveld, 7-5, 6-3.

Doubles

No. 1 Mindy Neilon/ Chelsea McColley (A) def. Sara Trenda/ Beth Marks, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 2 Tiffany Ankeny/ Lindy Swedberg (A) def. Megan Kaffine/ Kim Schammel, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 3 Amber Dolphin/ Claire Johnson (A) def. Carly Hyland/ Keely Hyland, 6-3, 6-3.

Cotter beats Lyle/Pacelli

The Winona Cotter Ramblers beat Lyle/Pacelli 6-1 in Winona Tuesday. Sammy Jones at No. 1 singles earned the lone point for Lyle/Pacelli. She won her match 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Lyle/Pacelli, as a team, is still looking for its first dual meet win of the season. Their next chance is on Monday when they host Shattuck/St. Mary’s, Faribault.