COLLINSVILLE – Marquette Catholic’s top two players in Monica Wendle and Audrey Hunter won together as a doubles team, then won their singles matches as the Explorers won over Collinsville 6-3 in a dual tennis meet held Thursday afternoon at Collinsville High School.
The Kahoks won two of the three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead in the meet, but Marquette won five of the six singles matches to take the meet on a warm but very humid late summer afternoon, with somewhat overcast skies. It was a very good performance overall for the Explorers
“Well, that’s the best I’ve seen them play,” said Marquette head coach Mike Walters. “I had a girl who played varsity for the first time this year, she was down 5-2, triple set point, and came back and won, and won the match, so that was huge. And then my last two girls lost the first set, came back and won the second set, were down in the tiebreaker, and came back and won it. So, that was very exciting. I don’t like those kind of matches,” he said with a smile, “I’d like to be over quick. My one and two players (Wendle and Hunter) have been playing really great this year in singles, and with Aubrey Hunter this first year playing doubles, they played much better today than they did against Roxana, but we’re very happy with the win.”
And with everyone else, the fact the girls tennis season is underway despite the COVID-19 pandemic makes Walters very happy.
“Well, it’s great to be out here,” Walters said. “We actually missed a week of practice because we had a young lady that did test positive, so we took the week off, we had the 10 days that everybody quarantined, and came back, and so, this is really our second week of tennis. So I’m very happy with the way the girls are playing.”
And for the Explorers, hopefully more good things are ahead as the season progresses.
“I certainly hope so,” Walters said. “I’ve got a great group of girls.”
It was the season debut for the Kahoks, and head coach Jessica Ledford felt that her team did well for an opening match.
“I think we did pretty well for our first match,” Ledford said. “I think we played pretty well today, considering it being our first match. I am hopeful, I am impressed with our number five, Abbi Olsson; she won her doubles and singles match today. I’m hopeful, because we have such a young group of girls. We only have two seniors (Lindsay Taylor and Olsson) that start, that will just continue to improve. And then, I am also excited that our two doubles also won, that is Loghan (Phetasadasack) and Anna (Falbe). They work really well as a doubles pair, so I’m happy about that. I’m excited to watch Lindsay play more, after she’s had her first match over with. She improves throughout the season, and every year, so I’m excited to see her in the next few matches that we have.”
Ledford is also very grateful to have the season underway as well, and it’s produced the biggest roster for the Kahoks in a long time.
“Yes, we have the biggest roster I think we’ve ever had,” Ledford said, “because it’s the only thing the girls can do right now. We have 27, so it’s definitely been fun to have something for them to do, and for us to even have a season.”
The doubles matches started out with Wendle and Hunter winning over Taylor and Alyssa Garcia 8-6 in a one set pro format, but Phetasadasack and Falbe evened the meet with a 9-8 win over Nina Walters and Alexis Williams, taking the tiebreak 7-2. The Kahoks took the lead in the number three doubles match when Olsson and Brinna Shea won over Josie Zigrang and Kamryn Bell 8-6.
Marquette won five of the six singles matches to take the meet. It started with Wendle winning her number one match over Taylor 6-2, 6-2, with Hunter following up with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Garcia to give the Explorers the lead at 3-2. Walters then won over Falbe 6-7, 6-3, 10-8, and Williams then won over Phetasadasack 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 to clinch the meet at 5-2. Olsson won her singles match over Zigrang 6-2, 6-4, and Olivia Tinsley won her match over Shea 6-4, 6-1 to make the final 6-3 score for Marquette.
The Explorers are set to play at East Alton-Wood River Sept. 1, then host Mascoutah Sept 3, with both meets set to begin at 4 p.m., and Walters’ goals for his team are simple, yet lofty as well.
“This year, we’ve lost four of our top six, and probably seven of our top ten,” Walters said, “so my goal this year is to make sure the girls play better, have a lot of fun, and we hope to win a couple of matches here and there.”
It’ll also a limited postseason coming up in October, but Walters is hopeful that his team will do well in whatever postseason the Explorers have.
“I hope so, yes,” Walters said. “They’re saying we could probably have a sectional; state’s completely out. But we’d love to have at least sectionals.”
But the season is indeed underway, and the Explorers’ players and coaching staff is very thrilled.
“Exactly,” Walters said. “They’re thrilled, and I’m happy to have them all back.”
The Kahoks are 1-2 to start the campaign, having gone 1-1 at the recent Andy Simpson Invitational, and will play at Mascoutah Sept. 1, then host Belleville West in their first Southwestern Conference match of the year Sept. 3, with both meet starting at 3:30 p.m. Ledford’s goals for Collinsville are similar to Marquette’s in some ways.
“I’d like all the girls to improve by the end of the year,” Ledford said, “but I would really like our younger players, like Alyssa, our number two, and our two juniors that play three and four (Falbe and Phetasadasack) to start winning some matches this year. I think they have a lot of potential in them to pull out some wins.”
Ledford is very optimistic of the future of the Kahoks.
“Yeah, I would say so,” Ledford said. “I think we have a really good group of girls.”
