Jays best Braves, moving on to WDA team tournament Thursday
May 24—Last week, it was Mandan who came out on top by one match, but this week, when it really mattered, it was the Blue Jays who pulled it out.
"I'm extremely proud of the effort the girls put forward tonight," head coach Paul Olson said. "Everyone played well and did their job for the team to help us win."
The Jamestown High School tennis team clutched up and came out on top of the Jays' WDA Tournament play-in match against Mandan. Jamestown won it 3-2.
The WDA tournament is slated to be held in the Magic City.
The Jays are slated to take on No. 1 Minot in the WDA tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. First serve of the opening round is scheduled for 10 a.m.
After falling 5-4 to Mandan on May 17 and 8-1 to Minot on May 19, the team came back with a 5-0 smack-down of West Fargo in the team's final match of the regular season.
The shutout of the Packers gave the Jays some extra confidence and motivation in the trip to Mandan.
Not surprisingly, Phoebe Olson pulled out an easy win for the Jays to get them up on the board. The senior cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mandan's Allie Ereth at the No. 1 singles spot.
Jamestown's No. 2 — Mya Henderson — had to be a little more tactful with her approach. Henderson wound up topping Audrey Duppong 6-3, 6-3 to garner the Jays' second win at the singles bracket.
"Mya's match was an exercise in consistency and patience," Olson said. "She kept herself in points until she had an opportunity to hit a winner and then made the most of her opportunities."
The stinger for the Braves came in the No. 2 doubles match.
"Grace (LeFevre) and Isabel (LeFevre) did such a great job," Olson said. "They were one of the first matches out and the last one on court.
"They won the match on a deuce point that, had they lost, would have made the match 5-5. It was a long, long point that they showed a lot of courage during. They earned that point and the match."
The LeFevre sister duo took the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to punch the Jays' first ticket to the WDA team tournament since 2018.
"We lost 3-2 heartbreakers in the play-in the last two seasons," Olson said. "I'm happy for our whole team, but especially for our seniors."
Jamestown 3, Mandan 2
Singles
No. 1: Phoebe Olson, J def. Allie Ereth 6-0, 6-0
No. 2: Mya Henderson, J def. Audrey Duppong 6-3, 6-3
No. 3: Noelle DeRosier, M def. Bria Nieswaag 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1: Sophia Felderman/Lauren Katzung, M def. Olivia Schriock/Sofia Williams 6-0, 6-1
No. 2: Grace LeFevre/Isabel LeFevre, J def. Brenna Schock/Alyssa Olson 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
