Woodbury girls tennis: Royals play eight matches in opening week, start 1-7

The Woodbury girls tennis team opened the season with a flurry of matches, playing in three tournaments in the first week of the season, starting the year 1-7 overall.

“We’ve faced some very stiff competition and yet the girls remain generally upbeat, positive and focused on improving with each day,” Woodbury head coach Derek Otto said. “That really makes coaching this group a pleasure and suggests we’re going to make great strides in the weeks to come.”

Woodbury’s lone win of the opening week came in the Royal/Raptor Quad tournament as the Royals finished in second place, falling 5-2 to East Ridge in the final on Wednesday, Aug. 24, after beating Tartan 6-1 earlier in the day.

In the championship game, East Ridge won all four singles and one doubles match to claim the victory over the Royals.

In doubles play, the No. 1 Woodbury duo of senior Rachel Eisenrich and sophomore Shanna Stevenson defeated East Ridge’s Emily Mueller and Anna Bearrood 6-7 (5-7) and 6-7 (2-7), while Woodbury senior Kristin Chu and junior Alyssa Delmundo defeated East Ridge’s Hannah Jacobs and Tiffany Jahn 3-6, 6-4 (13-15) at third doubles.

In the win over Tartan, however, Woodbury got three singles wins and swept doubles play. Woodbury senior Hannah Robbins won 3-6, 6-4 (10-4) at No. 1 singles, junior Kaitlyn Shea won 6-2, 3-6 (10-7) at third singles and senior Rae Zellmer won 6-2, 7-5 at fourth singles. In doubles play, Eisenrich and Stevenson combined for a 6-0, 6-1 win at first doubles, while sophomores Katie Kreibich and Taylor Monkman won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles and seniors Kristin Chu and Heena Joo won 6-1, 6-2 at third dubs.

Following the Royal/Raptor tourney, Woodbury had a tough time of it in the Hastings Invitational on Friday, Aug. 26, falling 6-1 to Rosemount, 6-1 to Hastings and 7-0 to Eastview. In the loss to Hastings, Monkman and Kreibich combined to win 6-4, 6-3 at second doubles and, in the loss to Rosemount, Brooke Hayes won 7-5, 6-4 in her varsity debut at fourth singles for the Royals’ two points on the day.

“Brooke got a nice win in her varsity debut at four singles to get us on the scoreboard against a very strong Rosemount team that’s likely to qualify for the state tournament,” Otto said. “It was an exciting performance for the eighth grader, who took down her hard-hitting opponent with quick feet and great consistency.”

To start the season, Woodbury was in Wisconsin, where it fell 5-2 to River Falls, Wis., and 5-2 to Hudson, Wis., on Saturday, Aug. 20. Against River Falls, Robbins won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and Patricia Maglalang and Delmundo won 6-2, 6-2 at third doubles. In the loss to Hudson, senior CoCo Vizoli won 6-3, 6-4 at second singles and Kreibich won 6-1, 6-2 at third singles for the Royals two points.

Next, Woodbury takes on non-conference foe North St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 31, before opening Suburban East Conference play against Hastings on Thursday, Sept. 1.

“Our No. 1 goal right now is to improve and play every match better than the one before,” Otto said. “So far I feel the girls have really embraced this attitude. They’re asking questions, making adjustments and developing into better and stronger players as a result.”

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