Girls tennis: Bombers are getting into a groove

Winning just two of its last nine matches prior to Saturday’s home triangular, the Cannon Falls tennis team was struggling to gain some consistency. But with just two matches left in the regular season, the Bombers are getting into a groove after sweeping their home invitational Saturday and picking up a 5-2 dual victory Monday at Stewartville.

At home, Cannon Falls opened with a 5-2 victory against Le Sueur-Henderson and a 7-0 sweep against Albert Lea.

“It’s always good to win at home,” Bombers head coach Paul Norstad said on Saturday. “I thought we’d do well (Saturday) and we did.”

The biggest coup for Cannon Falls on the day was the play of its doubles, which all finished 2-0.

In No. 1 doubles, Allie Serres and Maddie Adel defeated the Giants’ combo of Katelyn Hank and Katharine Chadwick 6-2, 6-2, while the Bombers’ No. 3 team of Hannah Boman and Sarah Modrak beat Tracy Eischens and Breanna Schug 6-4, 6-3.

While two doubles teams cruised to victory, Cannon Falls’ No. 2 team of Kaesey Glaess and Sheyenne Bauer needed a little extra time for a victory. After winning the first set 6-2 against Le Sueur-Henderson’s Katherine Cronk and Katie Pfarr, the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie in the second set. Glaess and Bauer would persevere, winning the tiebreaker 7-2 en route to the two-set victory.

The Bombers excelled in tiebreakers with No. 1 singles player Samantha Modrak and No. 3 Tayler Banitt each clinching their matches in tiebreakers.

“Those were huge,” Norstad said of winning the tiebreakers. “We’ve struggled with close ones and tiebreakers this year, so that was nice to see those go our way.”

There were no tiebreakers needed for the Bombers in their second match against Albert Lea on the way to a 7-0 victory.

McKenna Bauer got off to a slow start in No. 2 singles before ultimately coming through for a 7-5 first-set victory over Lynzee Underdahl. Bauer emphatically closed out the match with a 6-0 victory in the second set.

After winning their first five matches this season, the Bombers have battled with consistency issues. But with a pair of wins on Saturday, things started looking up for Cannon Falls.

“It was a good day,” Norstad said. “We needed a day like that with good matches to get some confidence going again.”

@Sub head:Cannon Falls 5, Stewartville 2

@Normal1: Cannon Falls continued to cruise Monday with a 7-0 Hiawatha Valley League victory over Stewartville.

And once again, the doubles came up big for the Bombers by sweeping all three matches. And with the No. 1 team of Serres and Adel and the No. 2 team of Cheyenne Bauer and Glaess won in three sets.

“I thought we played really well, maybe the best we’ve played in all three doubles,” Norstad said of his doubles on Monday. “It was a good win for us. A 5-2 win is rare to see in our conference.”

The Bombers’ depth showed in singles with Banitt and Grace Rutter winning at No. 3 and 4, respectively. Banitt won 6-2, 6-2 over the Tigers’ Maddie Grimm, and Rutter took her match over Mackenzie Olson 6-3, 6-3.

Cannon Falls (11-9, 3-3 HVL) returned to the court Tuesday with an HVL match at Winona Cotter. Results were unavailable at press time. The Bombers close out the regular season Oct. 2 against Rochester Lourdes.

Tags: girls tennis, cannon falls, sports, prep