Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis drops first three matches of 2026 campaign at Park Rapids/Roseau Invite

The Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis team got their season underway on Friday at the Park Rapids/Roseau Invite in Park Rapids, and they dropped all three matches played, falling 5-2 to Mound-Westonka and Aitkin, and 6-1 to Becker.

CROOKSTON VS MOUND-WESTONKA –
Lauren Tull got the nod at first singles for the Pirates, and she was locked in the closest match of the morning against Maddie Schley of M-W. Tull was able to persevere, winning in straight sets by 7-6 scores, winning the first set tiebreaker 8-6 and the second set tiebreaker 7-3. M-W was able to pull ahead in the final three singles matches, winning them all in straight sets. Catelyn Maruska was the closest for the Pirates in fourth singles, falling 6-3, 6-4.
In doubles, Crookston’s first and second doubles pairs were involved in close matches themselves. Nora and Bridget Groven lost a tight match 7-5, 6-3, while Katie Seaver and Tegan Fanfulik nearly forced a third set, but dropped the match 6-4, 7-6. The highlight in doubles cam in third doubles; Ella Capistran and Kaylen Bedard cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win, giving Capistran her first career varsity win.
New Pirate head coach Brielle Ellison was proud of the girls in this match, especially after the extreme roster turnover from last year. “Overall I think everyone played really well” said Ellison. “We graduated out ten seniors last year so it’s a completely new roster this season. Everyone worked hard for the first week of practice and it showed on the court.”

CROOKSTON VS AITKIN –
As was the case in the first match of the day, Crookston’s only victors against Aitkin came in first singles and third doubles. Lauren Tull had a much easier go of things in her second match, cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. On top of that, Ella Capistran was able to secure her first two varsity wins in a row, as her and Kaylen Bedard pulled away for a 6-3, 6-2 win.
Though the same Pirates lost in the second match, some of those matches were a lot closer. The first three-setter of the day came in third singles, where Avery Mathews came back to win the second set 6-3 to force a super tiebreak, which ultimately saw her fall 10-4. Catelyn Maruska was very close to forcing a third set in fourth singles but lost 6-4, 7-5, and the second doubles pair of Katie Seaver and Tegan Fanfulik were two points away from taking the first set in a tiebreak, but ended up falling 7-5, 6-3.

CROOKSTON VS BECKER-
Lauren Tull completed a perfect 3-0 to start the season at first singles, as she took control and never looked back in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ava Duncombe of Becker. Head Coach Brielle Ellison knew how talented Tull is, and loved seeing it in action. “Coming into this season it was apparent to me that Lauren was a stand out player. She has true talent in this sport” Ellison said, “today she proved to me that she has what it takes to fill this position. She has true grit and does not give up on the play.”
The rest of the team were unable to get a win in the third match of the day, The closest match out 0f these seven was once again third doubles, where Ella Capistran and Kaylen Bedard nearly got a sweep. However, they dropped two very close sets, including a tiebreaker in the first set, en route to a 7-6, 6-4 defeat. Even though the results didn’t result in wins, coach Ellison saw how much more comfortable the girls were getting throughout the day. “Starting out the day I could see a lot of nerves as this was a lot of their first varsity matches” said Ellison, “but as the day progressed I could see them start to relax and make good plays during the matches, and gain more confidence within themselves.”