Girls tennis: Wingers earn at least share of conference title with win

Red Wing assured itself at least a share of the Missota Conference championship Tuesday with a 5-2 win over Shakopee.

The Wingers can win the conference outright with a victory over Chanhassen on Thursday.

"I am so proud of the girls," Red Wing coach Randy Decker said in an e-mail. "This match and the Hastings match were the two most important matches of the year and in both cases we rose to the challenge."

Both Red Wing and Shakopee entered the contest without a blemish in conference play.

The match had already been decided when Ashley Brooks and Anna Busch played their No. 1 doubles match, but Decker said it was the most important match of the day. Had the two seniors lost, Decker said it might have resulted in the Wingers receiving a No. 3 seed for the section tournament instead of a No. 2 seed.

"In the last regular season home match of their high school careers, in front of a big crowd with everybody watching, against a really scrappy pair of opponents in a high stakes match -- they came through," Decker said. "It was sheer mental toughness and grit that won it for them."

Brooks and Busch defeated Sam Root and Kristina Worm 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

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