Raiders win one of three duals in new school year’s first competition

BALDWIN-WOODVILLE TENNIS QUAD

The first athletic competition of the new school year for Medford Area Senior High ended with some mixed results Tuesday for the girls tennis team at the Baldwin-Woodville Quad.

The Raiders went 1-2, easily beating short-handed Barron 6-1, lost a 4-3 decision to the host Blackhawks that truly could have gone either way and were defeated 5-2 by the Ellsworth Panthers.

“Ellsworth had a solid singles lineup,” Medford head coach Jake Bucki said. “Their one through four were all pretty similar players. Their four was really good, a freshman. We competed well with Baldwin. They’re a younger team. One loss to them was a tiebreak. Another one was really close. We won a close one in a tiebreak.”

The Raiders mixed and matched lineups throughout the day, allowing Bucki to get a look at players in different spots and a variety of doubles combinations. Unfortunately, Barron only brought five players to the meet, eliminating a couple of doubles matches in the day’s final dual.

Medford opened against Ellsworth and got wins from senior Sophie Brost in the number-one singles spot and juniors Myah Smith and Alyssa Brandner at number-three doubles. Bailey Ahlers beat Brost 6-1 in the first set, but Brost responded by taking the second set 6-2 and she won the tiebreaker 10-6.

“That was a good win to have,” Bucki said.

Brandner and Smith battled to a hardfought 7-5, 6-4 win over Marisa Dendinger and Olivia Eischen.

Ellsworth’s Hayley Bach and Brianna Quad results from Tuesday

Medford’s Tucker Kraemer shoots through a gap and scores a 35-yard touchdown during the Raiders’ scrimmage session with Edgar Friday in Eau Claire.

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Maurer won a first-set tiebreaker 7-6 (7) and took the second set 6-4 to edge Medford’s Kelsey Jascor and Masaeda Krug in flight-one doubles and Dayah Halverson and Maria Harrington were 6-2, 6-1 winners over Raiders Kenya Mann and Makayla Motte in flight two.

Ellsworth took three singles matches. In flight three, Claire Lawrence won a third-set tiebreaker 10-7 over Medford’s Autumn Higgins, who took the second set 7-5 after falling 6-1 in the first set.

“Autumn was willing to go to the net a lot and she got back into the match,” Bucki said.

Molly Janke won the number-two match 6-1, 6-1 over Lindsey Wildberg and Betsy Foster beat Medford’s Morgan Huegli 6-0, 6-2.

Medford’s Christine Czeshinski won an extra singles match 7-6 (3), 6-3 and Chloe Werner and Kierstyn Halopka won their extra doubles match 6-1, 6-3.

The second-round dual with Baldwin-Woodville couldn’t have been much closer.

Medford won two doubles matches in tiebreakers. Jascor and Krug got one of them, rallying from a rough start to beat Brooke Albrightson and Allie Albrightson 0-6, 6-4, 10-6. At numberthree, Werner and Halopka beat Mallory Bable and Lexi Everts 3-6, 7-5, 11-9 in a match that went down to the final point.

Wildberg bounced back from her loss against Ellsworth with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Katelyn Miller at number-two singles.

Bailey Albrightson beat Brost 6-2, 6-1, Dru Beebe beat Motte at number-three singles 6-1, 7-6 (3) and Abigal Nilsen was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Smith at numberfour. Maggie Jensen and Kylie Kastel won a tight match with Medford’s Brandner and Seidl 7-5, 6-4.

Medford’s Morgan Strebig fell 1-6, 2-6 in an extra singles match.

Krug and Jascor rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Ashlyn Mark and Emmallee Shipley in the number-one doubles match with Barron. Huegli outlasted Annika Moe 6-4, 6-4 in the flight-two singles match and Brandner won a third-set tiebreaker at number-three with Chance Dexter. Dexter took the first set 7-5, while Brandner answered with a 6-3 win before taking the tiebreaker.

Winners by forfeit were Halopka at number-four singles, Smith and Seidl at number-two doubles and Mann and Motte at number-three singles.

Barron’s Andrea Bechard beat Higgins 6-1, 6-0 in the flight-one singles match.

Medford opens Great Northern Conference competition today, Thursday, at defending league champion Antigo and hosts Lakeland Tuesday. The Raiders will be in Rhinelander Aug. 26 before heading to the two-day Altoona Invitational Aug. 27-28.

MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS