CROOKSTON GIRL’S TENNIS BEATS EAST GRAND FORKS AGAIN

The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Tennis team improved to 5-0 on the year as they beat the East Grand Forks Green Wave 5-2 in a Section 8A matchup at the East Grand Forks Senior High Courts.  “We used a little bit of a different lineup and it worked out today,” said Pirate Coach Cody Brekken. “The girls played well and we were able to pull through.”

The first four matches out were first and second singles and first and second doubles.  Crookston had a great start with Hayden Winjum beating Katelyn Farder 6-3, 6-1 at first singles.  It was the first time this season Hayden played first singles.  “She played well,” said Coach Brekken. “She played her game and was consistent and wore her out.”
Emma Osborn played a great match and beat Hannah Jensen-Selness 6-2, 6-0 to give Crookston a 2-0 lead. “That was the highest she has played in the singles line up,” said Coach Brekken. “She was sharp.  She had strong groundstrokes and overpowered her opponent.”
The first doubles team of Catherine Tiedemann and Halle Bruggeman ran into a duo (Brynn Havis and Maggie Dietrich) that played an outstanding all-around match and the Pirates fell short 6-1, 6-1 to cut Crookston’s lead to 2-1. “I haven’t seen so many shots about an inch over the net and East Grand Forks was hitting some great shots,” said Coach Brekken. “The girls ran into a buzzsaw with the East Grand Forks team.”
The fourth match completed was the second doubles match, and Crookston’s Halle Winjum and Emma Gunderson outlasted their opponents (Kendal Rand and Aleah Oshie) 6-4, 6-2 to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.  Crookston only needed one more victory in the final three matches to pick up the team win.  “Halle hasn’t played a lot of doubles, but they are friends and settle in and played better as they went along,” said Coach Brekken. “They played smarter tennis as the match went along.”
Crookston won the match when the third doubles team of Addie Fee and Brekken Tull won their match in convincing fashion by a 6-1, 6-1 score to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead.  “I think they might have had some jitters early,” said Coach Brekken. “The hit some smart shots and played well.”
Hannah Lindemoen cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at third singles to give Crookston a 5-1 lead with one match left.  “Hannah came out and played another solid match and had some great groundstrokes,” said Coach Brekken. “She took care of business and picked up a nice win.”
The final match on the courts was the fourth singles match and it went to a third set.  Abby Borowicz won the first set 6-1 before losing the second set 6-0, forcing a third set.  The third set was tight and EGF’s Kendra Emery won 12-10.  “That was an interesting match,” said Coach Brekken. “Abby finished strong and it was a good match for both players.” 

Crookston improves to 5-0 on the year and will host Thief River Falls on Tuesday.  “The girls have been playing well and we have five matches in with only six more to go,” said Coach Brekken. “We will start solidifying some spots and try to finish as strong as we started.”