Lady Bulldogs Empowered at Elliot Extravaganza

The Lady Bulldog tennis team played at the Elliot Extravaganza hosted by Aberdeen Central on September 17. They faced Watertown, Rapid City Stevens, and Huron. Milbank Area fell in their first two matches 9-0 to Watertown and RC Stevens, but came back with a 7-2 victory over Huron.
“This is one of the best events of the season,” said Bulldog head tennis coach Jim Dahl. “Aberdeen Central hosts a morning format of three singles matches, a fantastic noon meal, and the afternoon of three doubles matches. The weather was outstanding at a high of 78 with uncharacteristically very little wind.”

According to Dahl, Jamie and Jodi DeVaal had competitive matches against Watertown and Stevens at the Number 2 Doubles position. “Their matches were at 5-6 due to consistency and aggressive play. The DeVaal duo extended that higher level of play into their final doubles of the day with Huron to win handily.”

Milbank won five out of six singles matches against Huron. “Paige, Tatiana, Jodi, Jamie, and Halli did a nice job of gaining momentum earlier in their sets and closed out a few closer ones. In doubles, all three teams played outstanding. They were all volleying angles in their net play and worked extremely well together to give each other easier opportunities.”

The junior varsity team also competed in a doubles tournament at the Elliot Extravaganza. Each doubles team played three matches. Milbank faced Aberdeen Central, Aberdeen Roncalli, Huron, Watertown, and Rapid City Stevens.

“Throughout the day the girls battled hard and fought for every point,” stated Milbank assistant tennis coach Abbey Trapp. “The ladies worked together as a team and really did a great job coming into the net. Overall, they did a great job competing and I am very proud of them.”

With five dual wins this season and five matches to go, Dahl feels the team will meet its season target. “We have a strong chance of winning three or four of our last matches. We can then reach our goal of eight or more dual wins and move into the state tournament with confidence and playing at peak performance.”

Milbank hosts Aberdeen Central Tuesday, September 20. Junior varsity and middle school matches are set for 1 p.m. Varsity begins at approximately 3:30 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs travel to Brookings Saturday, September 24, for a triangular with the Bobcats and Yankton.

Following are the complete results from all the matches at the Elliot Extravaganza:
Milbank 0, Watertown 9
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Allie VanderWeide, 10-3; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud lost to Audrey Moran, 10-3; 3. Jodi DeVaal dropped to Abbi Cumming, 10-3; 4. Jamie DeVaal fell to Megan Hauger, 10-1; 5. Sarah Jarman lost to MacKenzie McClemans, 10-1; 6. Halli Essington dropped to Rachel Holien, 10-3.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud fell to VanderWeide/McClemans, 10-3; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal lost to Moran/Cumming, 10-5; 3. Jarman/Essington dropped to Hauger/Holien, 10-4.
Milbank 0, Rapid City Stevens 9
Singles
1. Paige Johnson fell to Grace Goble, 10-1; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud lost to Ally Riddle, 10-3; 3. Jodi DeVaal dropped to Ingrid Anderson, 10-2; 4. Jamie DeVaal fell to Halie Vanderwerff, 10-0; 5. Sarah Jarman lost to Peyton Forney, 10-1; 6. Halli Essington dropped to Jaden Elliot, 10-1.

Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud fell to Goble/Riddle, 10-0; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal lost to Vanderwerff/Forney, 10-5; 3. Jarman/Essington dropped to Anderson/Elliot, 10-1.
Milbank 7, Huron 2
Singles
1. Paige Johnson defeated Cassidy Hedblom, 10-8; 2. Tatiana Stemsrud won over Bailey Harvey, 10-6; 3. Jodi DeVaal downed Alyssa Schwartz, 10-2; 4. Jamie DeVaal defeated Elaine Hines, 10-1; 5. Sarah Jarman fell to Kayla Harvey, 10-3; 6. Halli Essington won over Megan Clark, 10-7.
Doubles
1. Johnson/Stemsrud fell to Hedblom/Harvey, 10-7; 2. DeVaal/DeVaal defeated Schwartz/Hines, 10-2; 3. Jarman/Essington won over Harvey/Clark, 11-9.
Junior Varsity
Rhianna Cantine/Rhianna Welberg fell to Armstrong/Armstrong, RCS, 8-1; Hattie Muellenbach/Kaitlin Schmitt lost to Appl/Giract, AC, 8-6; Alexis Ninneman/Jessica Fenhaus dropped to Conrad/Bamard, RSC, 8-0; Muellenbach/Schmitt fell to Conrad/Bamard, RCS, 8-0.
Cantine/Welberg fell to Fannin/Zink, Watertown, 8-6; Muellenbach/Schmitt defeated Richard/Thomas, Huron, 8-6; Ninneman/Fenhaus lost to Appl/Giract, AC, 8-3; Cantine/Welberg won over Sanson/Cantelope, Roncalli, 8-6; Ninneman/Fenhaus fell to Richard/Thomas, Huron, 8-4.