By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Even before Monday’s Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 subsectional, the East Troy girls tennis team had put together a heck of a 2016.
But it got even better.
East Troy, ranked sixth in the state, piled up 20 points to finish second behind only Madison Edgewood’s 24.
The Trojans qualified five positions to Wednesday’s Whitewater Sectional with berths in next week’s state meet on the line.
“(Monday was an) incredible day for (the) girls tennis team,” East Troy coach Dave Lindow said. “Scoring 20 points and finishing four points behind Edgewood is quite an accomplishment.
“I’m very proud of our team, who once again came to play on a big stage when it counted.”
Moving on in singles were Lora Leach at No. 1 and Victoria Pott at No. 3, while all three doubles teams also advanced.
Leech beat McFarland 6-2, 6-1 to improve to 21-5 overall. She faced the defending state champion from St. Joseph, Claire Czerwonka, in the first round at Wednesday’s sectional.
“Lora knows this will be a very tough match, but she is up for the challenge to see where she is against the best kid in the state,” Lindow said.
Victoria Pott beat Big Foot-Williams Bay’s Hannah Schmidt 6-2, 6-1, followed by a 7-5, 6-2 win over Whitewater in the second round improve to 9-1 and move on.
“Victoria has the game to compete against all the kids who play (at) three singles,” Lindow said. “When she stays focused, she is very hard to beat.”
Extending their seasons as well were the No. 1 duo of Mackenzie Lindow and Erin Rice, Claudia Pott and Alison Barth at No. 2 and Kelly Griffa and Allison Slusar at No. 3.
Lindow-Rice improved to 20-1 overall with a 6-1, 6-4 win over McFarland.
“These two are the only two sophomores at one doubles in the sectional, and they have done an outstanding job so far,” Lindow said. “They are playing at a high level.”
Claudia Pott-Barth beat Jefferson 6-2, 6-1 and Whitewater 6-3, 6-0 to improve to 9-2, while Griffa-Slusar improved to 22-3 win wins over Edgerton, 6-0, 6-1, and Big Foot-Williams Bay, 6-0, 6-3.
Pott-Barth had two matches Wednesday for a chance at state, while Griffa-Slusar looked to extend a winning streak that dates back to Aug. 15.
Falling at the subsectional were Anna Stephan at No. 2 singles, who beat Whitewater 6-2, 6-2, but lost 0-6, 1-6 to Madison Edgewood in the second round, and closed her season at 18-9. Mikayla Lamping beat Whitewater 6-2, 6-3, but lost 1-6, 0-6 to McFarland to finish her season at 17-4 overall.
Lindow knows heading into the sectional that his team will have to be at its best to get as many players off to Madison next week.
“Our sectional is the strongest (in the state), and we are very happy to be in the mix with the top teams in the state,” he said. “That shows a lot about our kids and their hard work to get to this point.
“We may not be able to knock off the top teams in the state, but it’s nice to get as close as we can and make a name for our school.”
