MHS tennis splits season opener

The Mitchell High School girls’ tennis team went 1-1 against Rapid City Central and Vermillion in its home opener Monday afternoon at Hitchcock Park in Mitchell.

The Kernels were defeated by Rapid City Central 8-1 in the first matchup of the day, but were able to finish on a high note with a 9-0 victory over Vermillion.

“There is certainly room for improvement, but I thought we were in every match,” head coach Pat Moller said. “We weren’t overmatched against Central, but we learned from our mistakes and looked better later in the day.”

The No. 4 singles player Haley Smith earned the only victory by beating Rapid City Central’s Kassidy Weather 10-7.

“I really was impressed with the way Haley played,” Moller said. “She was down 4-0 and came back to win that match. She showed maturity despite being a sophomore.”

Moller said the team needs to go back and work on the basics of doubles play.

“Although it’s the start of the season and we have new partners, they need to learn to work hard and play together,” he said. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and work on getting to the net quickly.”

Moller said the bottom spots of the lineup are not set in stone and are likely to move around after this week’s practices.

The Kernels will be back in action Saturday at the Brookings Jamboree beginning at 9 a.m. in Brookings.

Rapid City Central 8, Mitchell 1

Singles — No. 1 Kendall Tucker, RCC, def. Courtney Wells 10-4; No. 2 Tianna Duda, RCC, def. Chelsea Kracht 10-6; No. 3 Colette Christensen, RCC, def. Grace Grabenstein 10-6; No. 4 Haley Smith, M, def. Kassidy Weather 10-7; No. 5 Devorah Collins, RCC, def. Halle Larson 10-4; No. 6 Chelsey Christensen, RCC, def. Tatum Dean 10-3.

Doubles — No. 1 Tucker/Duda, RCC, def. Wells/Kracht 10-3: No. 2 Christensen/Weather, RCC, def. Grabenstein/Smith 10-3; No. 3 Collins/Miranda Douglas, RCC, def. Larson/Sammy Pooley 10-6.

Mitchell 9, Vermillion 0

Singles — No. 1 Wells, M, def. Abby Weiss 10-0; No. 2 Kracht, M, def. Libby Sykes 10-4; No. 3 Grabenstein, M, def. Audrey Muller 10-0; No. 4 Smith, M, def Alex Rosdail 10-0; No. 5 Larson, M, def. Brandi Styles 10-0; No. 6 Dean, M, def. Kirstyn Bohn 10-0.

Doubles — No. 1 Wells/Kracht, M, def. Weiss/Sykes 10-1; No. 2 Grabenstein/Smith, M, def. Muller/Rosdail 10-1; No. 3 Larson/Pooley, M, def. Styles/Bohn 10-0.

Tags: sports, updates, kernels, girls, tennis