Kernels knocked out of state tennis tournament Friday

RAPID CITY — The Mitchell High School girls’ tennis team concluded play at the state tournament Friday in Rapid City.

All of the Kernels’ players and doubles teams were knocked out by the end of play Friday.

The No. 1 doubles team of Courtney Wells and Chelsea Kracht went 1-1 Friday, earning the only Mitchell win of the day.

The seniors defeated Sioux Falls Lincoln 8-2 but lost to Watertown, this year’s Eastern South Dakota Conference champion, in the consolation semifinal matchup.

“Our No. 1 doubles team came out and played an amazing match against Lincoln,” said assistant coach Bruce Mastel, who was stepping in place of an absent coach Pat Moeller. “They absolutely dominated. We lost to them earlier this year and got retribution.”

The No. 3 doubles team of Allison Buckley and Sammy Pooley lost to Lincoln 8-5.

“It was a tough weekend for them,” Mastel said. “They played well, but they’re young and will definitely get better.”

No. 4 singles player Haley Smith lost to Watertown’s Sydney Strait 8-3 and No. 6 Tatum Dean was defeated by Pierre’s Kelly Brusven.

“Both played very solid players,” Mastel said. “It’s our first time at the state tournament for a lot of these girls, and now we got experience and hope to make a better showing next year.”

All of the other Mitchell players were knocked out Thursday.

The Kernels finished with 71 points after two days of competition. They were sitting in 17th place out of 20 teams. The teams with remaining participants conclude play today.

Sioux Falls O’Gorman was in first place in the team standings with 577 points, while Rapid City Stevens and Sioux Falls Roosevelt were tied for second with 514 points.

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