Singles key Grafton tennis team

The Grafton High School tennis team knew it was rebuilding and wouldn’t win many dual matches in the brutally difficult North Shore Conference.
But the Black Hawks pulled the final match out at Port Washington last Thursday, 5-2.
“It was a wonderful win, a match we were looking forward to,” coach John Kangas said.
The Hawks swept the singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Lydia Olson beat Katlee Doll, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 2, Taylor Wenten beat Cassiday Yuhas, 7-5, 6-1. At No. 3, Sierra Loughlin beat Alli Hansen, 6-4, 7-5. At No. 4, Kate Aleknavicius beat Zaara Rehman, 6-3, 6-1.
“They were ready and performed well,” Kangas said of the singles players.
At No. 1 doubles, Port’s Chloe and Tess Schueller beat Lilly Sabel and Thu Vo, 6-1, 6-0. At No. 2, Port’s Somers Welton and Lauren Krist beat Katie Schoeder and Jamie Kretlow, 6-4, 6-2.
“Both pairs both took control of the match to find the open court and to end points quickly at the net,” coach Melonie Zielinski said.
At No. 3, Grafton’s Hunter Bault and Andrea Vandeloo beat Hope Christiansen and Morgan Stone, 6-1, 6-3.
On Saturday, Grafton lost two of three matches by 7-0 scores in the Kohler quadrangular meet. The Hawks beat Williams Bay/Big Foot, 4-3.
Kangas mixed up the lineup, using Olson and Wenton as No. 1 doubles. They won, 6-2, 6-3. Loughlin won at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-3. Alkenavicius won at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-0. Grafton won its fourth match by default.
Kangas said he may keep this lineup the same for this week’s conference tournament and next week’s sub-sectionals.
“We’ve been improving as the weeks go by, gaining more confidence each week,” he said.
On Sept.18, Port lost to Hartford, 7-0.
“The conference tournament and sub-sectionals will be competitive, but with drive and determination I feel that we could have girls advancing to the next round,” Zielinski said.