No. 6 Century sweeps Wingers out of Section 1AA tourney

The Red Wing girls tennis team bowed out of the Section 1AA team tournament Thursday in a 7-0 loss in the quarterfinals to sixth-ranked Rochester Century in Rochester.

The third-seeded Wingers faced an uphill battle to say the least against the Panthers.

Rochester Century features two of the best players in the state in Kelsey Frechette and Jessie Aney. Frechette won the Class 2A singles title last season against Aney and the Panthers’ depth doesn’t end with those two.

Red Wing turned in a competitive match at spots against Century. Sophomore Emily Stegora lost 6-4, 6-4 to Madison Kircher at No. 3 singles and played perhaps the best match of her career, Wingers head coach Randy Decker said.

“Emily gave her everything she could handle — using her speed, her athleticism and her variety of shots to frustrate her opponent,” Decker said. “But it wasn't just the physical part of tennis at which Emily excelled — she played smart. She maintained her composure and she was positive and mentally tough to the end. This was a real breakthrough match for Emily and I think it will make her realize just how good she is capable of playing and give her the confidence she needs to play well against some of the opponents she will see in conference next year.”

Sophomore Nicole Schammel and senior Nakia Fritz gave the Panthers’ Sara Manulik and Jennifer Kim a battle at No. 2 doubles in a 6-4, 6-4 loss while freshman Lauren Brooks and junior Maddie Flack played to a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Briana Demaray and Anastasia Bruss at No. 3 doubles.

“Oddly enough for a coach whose team was blanked, I was really happy with our performance,” Decker said. “Before the match we talked about not worrying about our opponents and how good they are. We wanted to focus on us — our heart, our commitment, our willingness to fight to the last point despite being the underdogs.”

The individual tournament begins next Thursday.

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