VIRGINIA—As with most other Rock Ridge sports, the Wolverines girls tennis team is facing some new challenges this year now that the school has officially joined the Lake Superior Conference.
One of those challenges came knocking at their door on Friday as Rock Ridge welcomed in LSC foe superior for the first time in program history. And while the Wolverines didn’t know what to expect, they managed to string together enough wins to get the job done as they downed the Spartans 5-2 to keep up their winning ways so far this season.
On facing a new foe and the unknowns that come with it, co-head coach Kortney Rosati said it was an interesting challenge for the team, but one they were happy to figure out.
“I think it was exciting for us just as coaches and a program because we’re in this conference now so we’ll get to see a team like them every year. We didn’t know what to expect because we hadn’t seen them yet so there’s some excitement and anticipation. There’s some nerves. You can look up their record but that won’t tell you the whole story.
“It was fun. It was a good match and we’re happy to play some girls that we don’t normally see.”
Rock Ridge took three of four singles matches and two of three in doubles to help secure the win. At the No. 1 singles spot, senior Alli Fink made short work of the Spartans’ Mattie Schilling, picking up the routine 6-1, 6-0 win with little issue.
Superior got the point back at second singles, winning a three set match that came down to a tiebreaker as Olivia Mihalik defeated Rock Ridge’s Ayla Troutwine 2-6, 6-0, 7-6(2).
The rest of the singles matches felt much like the first match with Ellie Dimberio cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anikka Nikoi at the No. 3 spot and Ava Dahl having little issue over Savanah Mosack 6-2, 6-1 at the fourth spot.
In doubles, Superior’s top pairing of Greta and Lily Clark picked up a straight sets win over Mattie Seppi and Nina Paulsen 6-0, 6-3, but the Wolverines came out firing in the other two doubles matches to help clean things up.
At second doubles Emmi Peterson and Alice Johnson got the win for Rock Ridge 6-1, 6-0 over Kenlyn Thimm and Ava Dahl while Hailey Johnson and Erin Troutwine defeated Lexi Kimmer and Abby Barker also 6-4, 6-2.
With a couple of their usual players out of the lineup, the Wolverines shuffled things around a little bit on Friday. As more of their younger, less experienced players step on to the court, their coaches are getting chances to see how much they’ve improved since the season began.
“We had some girls out today so we really did have to fill in some holes,” co-head coach Jessica Kralich said. “I think those girls played pretty well considering the big shoes they had to fill against a team we really didn’t know before today.”
“They’re very happy to just go in where we ask them to and make things work when we’re down a couple girls,” Rosati added. “We’re open to trying different lineups and it’s good to see the girls happy and excited to get out there so they can just play.”
While the match was a success overall, the coaches know there’s still lessons to be learned and things to improve on. For those that lost Friday, there can be plenty to pick up on.
“It’s good for them to have those challenging matches,” Rosati said. “You’re going to play tough opponents and it’s a good thing to learn how to play when you’re down. Tennis is such a mental game so if you’re losing and your head’s not in the game, your level of play might go down. They need to know that they’re going to come across tough players and they just need to work through it, stay positive and have a good mindset. It’s not a bad thing to be challenged.”
Rock Ridge returns to the court on Thursday when they travel to Cloquet. Saturday they travel to Dultuh for a quadrangular with East, Elk River and Mahtomedi.
Rock Ridge 5, Superior 2
Singles: No. 1 Alli Fink, RR, def. Mattie Schilling, 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 Olivia Mihalik, S, def. Ayla Troutwine, 2-6, 6-0, 7-6(2); No. 3 Ellie Dimberio, RR, def. Annika Nikoi 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Ava Dahl, RR, def. Savanah Mosack 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles: No. 1 Greta Clark/Lily Clark, S, def. Mattie Seppi/Nina Paulsen 6-0, 6-3; No. 2 Emmi Peterson/Alice Johnson, RR, def. Kenlyn Thimm/Ava Dahl 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 Hailey Johnson/Erin Troutwine, RR, def. Lexi Kimmer/Abby Barker 6-4, 6-2.
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