Kloth and Goode finish in sixth at state
Paige Kloth and Abi Goode went into the state tournament as a special qualifier and ended the tournament on the podium with a sixth place finish.
The senior duo became the second team in school history to earn a medal at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association individual state tennis tournament. Jeanene Ennis and Ann Hubbard finished in fourth place back in 1998.
The Trojan’s started their state tournament by knocking off sixth seeded Ellie Grossen and Chandra McGuire of Monroe 6-4, 6-4.
“I told the kids we had a great draw to get to the elite 8 but we would need to play well against Monroe,” said Lindow. Lindow hoped history would repeat itself as he watched his team take court 11. “We played Monroe back in 98 when they were seeded 3rd and pulled off the upset on court 11,” said Lindow.
In the second round, Kloth and Goode defeated Tricia Nelson and Grace Rybarik of Shorewood 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to advance to the elite 8.
“We played really well and were up 3-0 in the second set before Shorewood kicked it in for a while,” said Lindow. “We calmed down and the kids did a good job of getting back to the basics and winning the third set.”
In the third round, they faced the eventual state champion team of Julia Veitinger and Taylor Benard of University School. The Trojan’s gave them the best match of the tournament losing 3-6, 6-7(7).
“We were right there with the best team in the state,” said Lindow. “Our girls started to believe and we made it real close.”
Kloth and Goode sealed a medal with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 over 7th seeded University School’s Emma Ross and Carly Black in the fourth round.
“We lost the first set and we made an adjustment in the way we played and then were in command of the next two sets,” said Lindow.
In the final round, the senior duo lost to the fourth seeded team of Alecia Swenson and Gabby Brucker of Eau Claire Regis 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-1.
“We had them tied at 5-5 in the break and were 2 points away from victory,” stated Lindow.
Kloth and Goode end their careers on a high note. They finished the season with a 26-4 record, they won back-to-back conference championships at No. 1 doubles, and ended their tennis career with a sixth place finish and medal at the state tournament.
“It was too good to be true,” said Paige Kloth. Just being on the podium having everyone look at you, and realizing how hard you work to get where you are is just amazing.” Kloth finished her career with 83 wins, second all-time in school history. “I remember joining coach Lindow’s clinics when I was in 5th grade,” said Kloth. “After working so hard for years and trying to get better, this made it all worth it.”
Goode finished her career with 74 wins, 6th all-time. “I’ve came a long way from JV my freshman year,” said Goode. “Paige is a great partner and this was an incredible experience.”
Lindow had praise for his doubles team for being able to adjust late in the season. “On Monday before state, we changed our attitude to a more aggressive style of play,” said Lindow. “I knew we need to be on top of the net to compete with these team and the kids adjusted well.”
This was East Troy’s 17th consecutive trip to the state tournament, the longest public school streak in the state in division 2. “We were glad to represent the public schools in our division,” said Lindow. “It’s a division dominated by the private schools and we competed with each and every one of them.” Lindow’s team was the only public school to stand on the medal podium. “I’m so proud of my kids,” said Lindow. “They came to play in the summer clinics and I enjoyed watching them grow into great players. It was a great day for them and a great day for our program.”
