Lady Netters Add Two Dual Wins to Season Record

The Milbank Area Girls’ Tennis team traveled to Aberdeen on Saturday, September 15, for a three-match invitational. The Lady Bulldogs left with with two wins and one loss.

Coach Jim Dahl said, “Our players were on the courts from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 till 8:30 p.m., thus a good conditioner once again for our group. In the Huron match, it looked on paper to be a battle, but credit goes to our players as they opened with four out of six singles wins. Winning at No.1 was Hallie Essington, at No. 3- Rhianna Welberg, at No. 4- Hattie Mullenbach, and at No. 5- Jenna Johnson. They also swept the doubles.”

The second match of the day pitted the girls against the team from T.F. Riggs High School. “Against Pierre, the girls took charge in winning four of six singles with Essington at No.1 and Welberg at No.3. Rhianna Cantine (No.2) was down early, but did a nice job of adjusting to win eight of the last 11 games and earn a tight victory. Mullenbach at No.4 was locked in a very competitive battle at 5-4, but turned up the level of the play dial and won three of the last four games to seal the win. In doubles, when the No.1’s (H’s) earned the 8-3 win – we had the team victory, but it was nice to see our No. 2’s and No. 3’s win close battles.”

In the final match of the day, the Lady Bulldogs took on Rapid City Stevens. “Knowing they are one of the top five teams in the state with a 20-1 record, we went in with the mindset of raising our level of play to match up with them as best we could,” Dahl said.

“Essington at No.1 and Cantine at No. 2 had strong singles play and challenged their opponents, but in the remainder of singles and doubles match ups, Milbank could not muster more than two games.” Dahl said. Despite the loss, Dahl added, “It was another fine day of tennis for our team, improving our conditioning and play level overall. With the two wins, the girls have nine dual wins on the season, thus far posting a 9-10 dual record.”

The Lady Bulldogs host both Lennox at 3 p.m. and Roncalli at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18.

Team captured during practice.