Lady Bulldog Netters Love Improving

The Bulldogs girls tennis team competed at the Brandon Valley Invitational September 9-10. They played five matches.

Milbank dropped to Sioux Falls Lincoln 9-0 before shutting out Vermillion 9-0 on Friday. “SF Lincoln was strong in singles play,” said Milbank head tennis coach Jim Dahl. “They moved the ball around the court with excellent placement. Our team fared better against them in doubles. Even though we did not win any sets, many of the games were competitive and the three doubles teams won 11 games collectively.”

The Lady Bulldogs cruised to a 9-0 win over Vermillion to wrap up play the first day. “Our goal was to continue to play at the level we did in the doubles sets with Lincoln,” said Dahl. “Seven of our matches with Vermillion were won easily. All three doubles teams played well to outdistance their opponents.”

Milbank then battled Harrisburg, Rapid City Central, and Brandon Valley on Saturday. In their first match, Milbank fell 9-0 to Harrisburg. “Harrisburg has a much improved team,” stated Dahl. “Our girls battled hard in many of the sets, but Harrisburg got the key points at critical junctures of the match. This was a good match for our team and a good test to see how we would handle the rest of the day’s matches after a tough loss.”

The Lady Bulldogs came back with a close 5-4 loss to Rapid City Central. Paige Johnson and Tatiana Stemsrud secured a 9-7 victory at number one doubles before Jamie and Jodi DeVaal, at number two doubles, followed suit and earned an 8-6 win. “In singles play we needed a 3-3 split or better to get the team victory,” said Dahl.

Stemsrud and Hallie Essington won their singles matches, but were unable to secure the team victory. “We needed one of the final four singles matches. Paige and Jodi had close matches that went down to the wire, only to have key points escape them. It was a tough team loss,” Dahl admitted.
The Lady Bulldogs played what Dahl felt was their best match of the day, but fell 8-1 to Brandon Valley to wrap up the event. Milbank’s lone win in the match came from Sarah Jarman and Essington, at number three doubles, securing the 8-6 victory. “It was nice to see them play consistently in that set and to close it out in the final game when leading 7-6,” said Dahl. “I was thinking as a coach, to bottle this (the way we were playing as a team) and bring it out for future matches would be ideal. I was more pleased with our play in this match than any others of the weekend.”

Four senior playears will be honored at Senior/Parents Nights prior to the Milbank Area volleyball game Thursday, September 15, at the Milbank Armory. Jamie DeVaal, Paige Johnson, Tatiana Stemsrud, and Sarah Jarman will be recognized. All have dedicated three years to the sport.

Milbank will play in the Elliot Extravaganza in Aberdeen on Saturday, September 17.

Complete results from all five matches in Brandon Valley:
Milbank 9, Vermillion 0
Singles
1. Paige Johnson defeated Brandi Styles, 10-4; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud won over Libby Sykes, 10-7; 3. Jodi DeVaal shutout Shinayne Whipple, 10-0; 4. Jamie DeVaal rolled over Jane Strickland, 10-3; 5. Sarah Jarman defeated Katrina Jules, 10-8; 6. Halli Essington downed Emma Dalhoff, 10-3.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud defeated Styles/Sykes, 10-2; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal won over Whipple/Strickland, 10-2; 3. Jarman/Essington downed Jules/Dalhoff, 10-2.
Exhibition
Rhianna Cantine defeated Alex Rosales, 10-4; fell to Emma Daldorf, 10-4.
Milbank 0, Sioux Falls Lincoln 9
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Sidney Browser, 6-0, 6-1; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud lost to Meredith Benson, 6-0, 6-1; 3. Jodi DeVaal dropped to Ava Leonard, 6-0, 6-0; 4. Jamie DeVaal fell to Emily Whitney, 6-0, 6-0; 5. Sarah Jarman lost to Johanna Brewer, 6-0, 6-0; 6. Halli Essington dropped to Brooke Lover, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles scores were not available.
Exhibition
Rhianna Cantine fell to Brittany Quella, 6-0, 6-1; lost to Elle Dobson, 6-1, 6-0.
Milbank 0, Harrisburg 9
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Sydney Rott, 8-5; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud lost to Brooke Harmer, 8-0; 3. Jodi DeVaal dropped to Zoe Donelan, 8-3; 4. Jamie DeVaal fell to Hannah Markman, 8-4; 5. Sarah Jarman lost to Megan Parsons, 8-4; 6. Halli Essington dropped to Macy Rott, 8-2.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud fell to Rott/Parsons, 8-0; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal lost to Harmer/Markman, 9-8 (7); 3. Jarman/Essington dropped to Donelan/Rott, 8-6.
Exhibition
Rhianna Cantine defeated Hattie Meyer, 10-6; fell to Megan Parsons, 7-6.
Milbank 4, Rapid City Central 5
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Marianna Robidoux, 9-7; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud defeated Karen Ly, 9-7; 3. Jodi DeVaal lost to Genesiz Reynolds, 8-6; 4. Jamie DeVaal dropped to Dayton Franke, 8-1; 5. Sarah Jarman fell to McKenzie Crowley, 8-3; 6. Halli Essington won over Anna Lightenberg, 8-1.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud defeated Robidoux/Ly, 9-7; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal won over Reynolds/Crowley, 8-6; 3. Jarman/Essington fell to Franke/Lightenberg, 8-5.
Exhibition
Rhianna Cantine defeated Danielle Mitchell, 9-8 (2).
Milbank 1, Brandon Valley 8
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Tanna Lehfeldt, 8-0; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud lost to Chandler Harstad, 8-4; 3. Jodi DeVaal dropped to Kate Lunborg, 8-4; 4. Jamie DeVaal fell to Sydney Pelleteir, 8-3; 5. Sarah Jarman lost to Molly Jensen, 8-4; 6. Halli Essington dropped to Annabelle Schultz, 9-7.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud fell to Lehfeldt/Harstad, 8-5; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal lost to Lunborg/Pelleteir, 8-5; 3. Jarman/Essington defeated Emily Crosby/Schultz, 8-6.
Exhibition
Rhianna Cantine fell to Emily Crosby, 8-4.