The Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis team competed today in a Triangular held in Park Rapids. The event was initially supposed to be a Quadrangular but Long Prairie-Grey Eagle did not compete. The Pirates won their first match of the day over Pequot Lakes 4-3 before finishing the day with a win over Park Rapids 5-2 to go 2-0. “It was a great day for Crookston Tennis,” said Pirates Coach Cody Brekken. “Weather was great and we were able to use two different lineups for the matches which turned out well because I wanted to see how the girls would respond playing in different places and they responded well.”
CROOKSTON vs PEQUOT LAKESÂ –
Crookston got strong play early on, getting a couple of quick wins with one of them being Halle Winjum winning at #2 singles 6-2, 6-0. “Pequot Lakes traditionally has very strong single players so for Halle to win that one at #2 singles was big,” said Coach Brekken. The #2 doubles team of Kaylie Clauson and Isabelle Smith also won in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 to give the Pirates the early 2-0 edge in the match.Â
Pequot Lakes also got on the board with a win at #4 singles 6-1, 6-3, and it wasn’t looking good for the Pirates #3 doubles team of Paige Abrahamson and Jenna Seaver, but they would rally to win 1-6, 6-4, 10-3 in a tie-breaker. That gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead in the match needing just one more win.
The Pirates final doubles team of Halle Bruggeman and Brekken Tull would deliver the final win 6-4, 6-0, and even though Pequot Lakes won the #1 and #3 singles matches, the Pirates would get the win 4-3. “It was important for us to win all the doubles matches and we knew that going in, and we were able to get all three of them which ended up being the difference.” It’s the second 4-3 win of the season for Crookston as they also defeated EGF last week in a nail bitter.
“One other nice thing about this match was getting Emma Gunderson some time playing singles,” said Coach Brekken. “She is a very versatile player that hasn’t had much singles experience so to get her that opportunity was good and even though she didn’t come away with the win, it was good to see her out there playing well.”
| CROOKSTON-4 | Pequot Lakes-3 | Win | Score | |
| 1st | Emma Gunderson | Quinn Trottier | PL | 6-4, 6-1 |
| 2nd | Halle Winjum | Allyson Yahn | CROX | 6-2, 6-0 |
| 3rd | Abby Borowicz | Payton Mudgett | PL | 6-1, 6-4 |
| 4th | Addie Fee | Ellie Quradrik | PL | 6-1, 6-3 |
| 1st Dub |
Halle Bruggeman Brekken Tull |
Kelbee Lampi Aubrey Wizek | CROX | 6-4, 6-0 |
| 2nd | Isabelle Smith Kaylie Clauson |
Eva Mumm Kessa Eggert |
CROX | 6-1, 6-1 |
| 3rd | Paige Abrahamson Jenna Seaver |
Nikki Crocker Cailie Eggert |
CROX | 1-6, 6-4, 10-3 |
CROOKSTON vs PARK RAPIDSÂ –
Crookston once again got off to a great start with Isabelle Smith picking up a win in the #4 singles slot 6-1, 6-0. The doubles play also continued to excel with the #2 doubles team of Addie Fee and Kaylie Clauson making quick work of their opponents 6-1, 6-3 to give Crookston a 2-0 lead in the match. “Coming off the invitational where Kaylie and Addie won the Gold Medal at #2 doubles, it was nice to see them go through their match quick and continue to play well,” said Coach Brekken. “
A big reason the Pirates had success in the first match of the day was that all the doubles teams won, in this match, it was the other way around and all the singles players won for Crookston. “Park Rapids matches our personnel and style a little bit more than Pequot Lakes does,” said Coach Brekken. “So we put a similar lineup out that we had in previous matches for this one. Even the matches Park Rapids won went to tiebreakers so I was very impressed with all the girls today and especially the single players.” Halle Winjum took care of business in her first set at #1 singles 7-5, before rolling in the second set 6-0 for a straight sets win. Brekken Tull got the #2 singles spot in this match and handled her opponent 6-2, 7-5 for another Pirates victory, and Abby Borowicz finished off the sweep for the Crookston singles players with a 6-0, 7-6 (12-10) victory.
Park Rapids did get wins at the #1 and #3 doubles spots but Crookston would win the match 5-2.Â
Crookston has now begun the season 4-0 as a team and will be in action this Thursday for a Triangular in Moorhead against Staples-Motley and the Spuds. “We’re getting the team wins which is great and we also know where we were a year ago and where we want to get to,” said Coach Brekken. “It’s great to get the team wins but also important to continue developing individually and improving in areas we need to so we can strive for a lineup that is solid all the way through.”
| CROOKSTON-5 | Park Rapids-2 | Win | Score | |
| 1st | Halle Winjum | Morgan Koppelmen | CROX | 7,5, 6-0 |
| 2nd | Brekken Tull | Shayilyn Hayes | CROX | 6-2, 7-5 |
| 3rd | Abby Borowicz | Ella Ehler | CROX | 6-0, 7-6 (12-10) |
| 4th | Isabelle Smith | Destiny Haddy | CROX | 6-1,6-0 |
| 1st Dub | Halle Bruggeman Emma Gunderson |
Macy Goochey Mickey Clark |
PR | 6-4, 2-6 (10-7) |
| 2nd | Addie Fee Kaylie Clauson |
Emmy Goochey Abby Runyan |
CROX | 6-1, 6-3 |
| 3rd | Paige Abrahamson Coral Brekken |
Rachel Ulvin Kate Dravis |
PR | 6-1, 3-6, 10-4 |
