Packer tennis team tops JM
Published 9:24 pm Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Austin No. 1 singles Sophie Hebrink goes for a slam at the net against Rochester John Marshall Tuesday afternoon at Paulson Courts. -- Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin girls tennis team hung on to beat Rochester John Marshall 5-2 at Paulson tennis courts Tuesday.
The No. 2 doubles team of Nadia Carney and Jordan Flaherty and the No. 1 doubles team of Mary Kate Barinka and Emily Sundahl each had to endure a competitive three sets to get the win.
Flaherty and Carney dropped a tie-breaker in the first set 7-3 and after taking the second set 6-3, they had to play another tie-breaker to decide the match.
Flaherty slammed down a volley to make it 5-2 and she landed a shot just inside the back line for the seventh point to give the duo a 7-5 win in the tie-breaker.
Nadia Carney, part of the No. 2 doubles team with Jordan Flaherty, delivers a forehand Tuesday afternoon in Austin's dual against Rochester John Marshall at Paulson Courts. -- Eric Johnson/photdesk@austindailyherald.com
“We were nervous but it was all up to us,” said Flaherty, a senior. “We just tried to be aggressive and we kept our head in the game. It feels so good to get through this one.”
Nadia Carney said that it felt good to hang on in a nerve-racking situation.
“This is a confidence builder and now we know we can do it,” she said.
The team of Barinka and Sundahl dropped a first set tie-breaker and they rallied to win the next two sets —pulling the third one out 7-5.
In singles play, Nina Carney beat out plenty of long volleys in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Steffi Testloff.
“Everything was going good today and I felt pretty strong overall,” she said. “It’s a lot better to play people as good as you or better because it pushes you to want it even more.”
The Packers (2-2 overall, 2-2 Big Nine) also got a win from eighth grader Alisa Sforza, who is starting to get the hang of varsity tennis.
“I think I played pretty good, but I could’ve done better,” she said. “At first it was really weird (playing on varsity) because it was way better than I’m used to it. But now I’m comfortable out there.”
Austin head tennis coach Tom Tauchnitz was pleased to get the win, but he said the squad still has some work to do.
“I want to commend the girls for listening and making adjustments throughout their matches. We fought hard,” he said. “But we may need to tweak the lineup a little and we are a work in progress.”
Singles
No. 1 Katie Krull (JM) def. Sophie Hebrink (A) 6-2 6-3
No. 2 Nina Carney (A) def. Steffi Tetsloff (JM) 6-3 6-2
No. 3 Alisa Sforza (A) def. Susie Han (JM) 6-3 6-3
No. 4 Ashley Flaherty (A) def. Claire Kingsley (JM) 2-6 6-2 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 Mary Kate Barinka/Emily Sundahl (A) def. Melissa Parry/Rachel Yadlosky (JM) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5
No. 2 Nadia Carney/Jordan Flaherty (A) def. Christine Gorman/Ashley Jochum (JM) 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
No. 3 Laura VanVooren/Lizzy Parry (JM) def. Alex Larson/Olivia Grev (A) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4
