Girls head into Division 2 sectional action next week
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
When the season began in August, longtime East Troy girls tennis coach Dave Lindow was faced with a number of new faces in the varsity lineup.
And with that inexperience and youth came some unanswered questions.
Fast forward to last week’s Rock Valley Conference Tournament, and it’s safe to say the Trojans passed the test.
East Troy finished with 16 points, behind only champion Jefferson’s 20 to place second in the six-team meet at UW-Whitewater. McFarland was third with 12 points, followed by Big Foot with eight, Whitewater with four and Edgerton with zero.
“I’m really proud of this team for battling every match this season,” Lindow said. “We only had four returning letterwinners. … They have played as a team all year. I could not be more proud of them.”
The Trojans’ No. 2 doubles duo of Belle Verbeten and Allison Slusar led the way with a conference championship.
Verbeten-Slusar had a first-round bye, followed by wins over Big Foot (6-3, 6-2) and Whitewater (6-3, 6-3) to improve to 20-1 overall.
“They played an outstanding tournament,” Lindow said. “They are on a roll and are hoping to continue their success in the postseason.”
The Trojans also had four second-place finishes.
Advancing to the finals were Mikayla Lamping at No. 2 singles, Milena Nelson at No. 3, Mackenzie Lindow-Erin Rice at No. 1 doubles and Emma Scurek-Maddie Peters at No. 3.
Lamping (14-11) defeated McFarland (4-6, 6-1, 10-5) in the second round, followed by a 0-6, 2-6 loss to Jefferson. Lamping’s 14 wins are tied for the most at the No. 2 spot in Lindow’s career at East Troy.
“(She) took on a high-level singles spot (this season) and competed very well,” he said.
Nelson (22-3) earned wins over Edgerton and Jefferson (no scores listed), while Lindow-Rice (24-3) beat Edgerton in the second round (6-0, 6-2), but fell to Big Foot (4-6, 3-6) in the finals.
“(Nelson) has played outstanding as a first-year player,” Lindow said. “She’s very tough minded and can grind points out.
“(Lindow-Rice) played a great tournament. They just fell short to a very good team (from Big Foot).”
Scurek-Peters beat Whitewater (6-4, 7-5) in the second round, followed by a loss to Jefferson in the finals.
“They have really come along the last few weeks,” Lindow said. “They were really close to winning it all.”
East Troy’s Sydney Raddeman (21-6) was fourth at No. 4 singles, while Jessica Tess (14-11) was fifth at No. 1 singles.
Next up for the Trojans is the WIAA Division 2 subsectional meet Monday at East Troy, beginning at 8 a.m. The sectional tournament is set for Wednesday at Whitewater.
“We now turn our focus to the postseason and try to advance our players to sectionals and then onto the state tournament,” Lindow said.
“Our number one doubles team is hoping to once again capture the magic they had last year when they finished fourth overall. Our number two doubles team is close behind them. We are hoping to get them to the state tournament. Our top singles players are in a tough sectional, but we will play the matches and see what happens.”
