Junior Team Tennis Wraps Up Summer

The Northfield Junior Team Tennis teams concluded their summer this past week when the 18U Nadal team and the 14U Roddick and Murray teams competed in the Section Championships at the Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is a recap of how the rain-altered two-day event went for each team. Note: some matches were only played to 6 due to rain and consolation matches were also shortened from 8 games to 6.

18U Nadal

On Tuesday, the 18U Nadal team played two matches after the organizers had to reshuffle the pools due to rain. In their first match, the team lost a close match against eventual champion Chanhassen/Chaska 24-17. The lone match wins for Northfield were Ryan Walser-Kuntz and Scott Silkensen at boys doubles (6-1) and Andrew Johnson and Kate Arneson, who trailed 5-1 but came back to win in a tie-breaker 6-5. In the second match of the day, Northfield won three of the five matches to squeek by SPUTniks (St. Paul) 23-20. Andrew Johnson and Mari Arneson won their singles matches 6-4 and 6-1, respectively. Hannah Morris and Jenna Dixon also picked up a 6-3 win at girls doubles. After the first day, Northfield finished second in their pool and advanced to play in the Gold Bracket on day two. On Wednesday, Team Nadal faced Apple Valley's A team in one of two first round matches. Despite having to default the boys singles match, Apple Valley came up with a 32-25 win, as they swept the four matches. Northfield had chances in each match winning four or five games in each but could not scratch out anymore games. The loss sent Northfield to the consolation bracket and gave the team a third match against Wayzata CC, a team they beat comfortably twice at Areas. This time, the match was far closer but Northfield again came out on top 20-19. Evan Johnson won his singles match 6-1 and Ryan Walser-Kuntz and Andrew Johnson won at boys doubles 6-0 to help Team Nadal to the win. In the consolation final, Northfield fell 28-18 to Fridley White. Mari Arneson was the lone victor for Team Nadal as she gutted out a 6-4 singles win. The consolation runner-up finish wrapped up a successful summer for the squad.

14U Roddick

The Roddick team went 1-1 on Tuesday as they topped Fridley Silver 28-12 before losing to Wayzata CC Red 27-15. Against Fridley, Molly Smith earned a 6-1 singles win and Northfield also swept the three doubles matches. The pairs of James Miller and Jack Cuddy (6-1), Rachel Will and Xena Scholze (6-1), and Sage Brinton and James Miller (6-3) all were victorious for Northfield. In the loss to Wayzata CC Red, Northfield's lone win came from Rachel Will, who won 6-3 at girls singles. Xena Scholze and Sage Brinton suffered a narrow 6-5 loss in a tie-break at girls doubles. On Wednesday, the Roddick team was put in the Gold Bracket but lost their opener to Bulldogs 38-28. Rachel Will and Xena Scholze earned Northfield's only win at girls doubles 8-6. Molly Smith and the team of James Miller and Jack Cuddy both lost 8-6, while Sage Brinton and Ellis Orjala lost a tie-breaker 8-7 at mixed doubles. In the consolation bracket, Northfield lost to Apple Valley's A team 25-13 ending their summer. Molly Smitha and Rachel Will were the lone victors for Team Roddick, as the duo cruised to an 8-1 win at girls doubles.

14U Murray

The 14U Murray team came up against some tough competition on Tuesday and went 1-2 in their pool. In their opening match, the team lost 30-6 to the AAA's. Dez Young and Christian Bohlen had the closest match of the match at boys doubles where they fell 6-4. In match number two, the Murray team tied the Shakopee Bearcats 21-21 but earned the win by virtue of winning three of the five matches. Luke Marvin won 6-1 at boys singles, while Alyshia Cooney and Sara Silkensen picked up a win in a tie-breaker 6-5. Christian Bohlen and Madison Krenzel also notched a 6-3 win at mixed doubles. In their third match of the day, Northfield lost 30-14 to Apple Valley's A team. Dez Young lost a 6-4 match at boys singles and Madison Krenzel and Olivia Drew lost a close match in a tie-break to give Northfield nine of their 14 games. For day two, the Murray team was put in the Silver Bracket and played the Shakopee Bearcats in a rematch from Tuesday. This time, Shakopee came out on top 25-12. Luke Marvin and Dez Young were the lone winners for Northfield as the duo earned a 6-1 win. The loss knocked Northfield to the consolation final, where the team edged Fridley Silver 22-20 to end their summer. Ethan Brinkman (6-1) and Sara Silkensen (6-3) picked up singles wins for Northfield, while Madison Krenzel and Olivia Drew won at girls doubles 6-4.

Also, here's a link to a site with some pictures taken by Jayne Overstreet at the Section Championships at the Baseline Tennis Center. The pictures are mostly of the 14U Murray team. Enjoy!