HIBBING—The Hibbing girls’ tennis team improved to 5-4 on the young season after sweeping Cloquet/Esko/Carlton 7-0 on Hibbing’s home court Tuesday afternoon.
Hibbing head coach Gary Conda liked the effort he saw from his team in the win.
“We got seven matches, a couple of tight ones. The effort was there today; there’s no doubt about that. Everyone was working hard.”
Conda did see room for improvement despite the 7-0 score.
“Technically, we had some mistakes. Hitting the ball the wrong way, just a couple of things to correct there. In singles, we were way more aggressive; we put pressure on them when we needed to, and that makes a difference. We score points a little quicker when we do that.”
Hibbing’s Mya McKenny, playing number one singles, and the second doubles team of Lilyana Sparks and Taylor Norenberg faced the toughest opposition, with McKenny coming out on top 1-6, 6-4, 10-7, over the Lumberjacks’ DJ Vernon while the Sparks and Norenberg combo finished with a 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 win over Marlo Benson and Taylor Gilbertson.
In other singles action, Olivia Theien won 6-1, 6-1 over Ellie Warnygora at the No. 2 spot, Lauren Ringhofer defeated Aubrey Pearce 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot and Mara McDonald made short work of Audrey Marsh at the No. 4 spot 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles, the top duo of Kori McCormick and Bryjah Schnipkoweit defeated Jayten Clark and Addy Lacore 6-1, 6-3 while Lauren Theien and Natalie McLaughlin cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win over Taliyah Tormanen and Laela Aasen at the No. 3 spot.
At the end of the day, Conda took the win in stride.
“All in all, it was a good day. We’re 5-4, so we’re over 500. It’s kind of what I expected early in the season. We’re just trying to be better at the end. That’s the main thing here.”
Hibbing tennis returns to the courts Thursday when they travel to Duluth East.
Hibbing 7, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton 0Singles: No. 1 Mya McKenny, H, def. DJ Vernon 1-6, 6-4, [10-7]; No. 2 Olivia Theien, H, def. Ellie Warnygora 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 Lauren Ringhofer, H, def. Aubrey Pearce, 6-2, 6-1; No. 4 Mara McDonald, H, def. Audrey Marsh 6-0, 6-0.Doubles: No. 1 Kori McCormick/Bryjah Schnipkoweit, H, def. Jayten Clark/Addy Lacore 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 Lily ana Sparks/Taylor Norenberg, H, def. Marlo Benson/Taylor Gilbertson 2-6, 6-4, [11-9]; No. 3 Lauren Theien/Natalie McLaughlin, H, def. Taliyah Tormanen/Laela Aasen 6-3, 6-0.