After a two-month break following a historic season, Dike-New Hartford girls tennis is back and making noise on the courts again as the sport moves from spring to fall.
The Wolverines return three varsity regulars from last year’s state quarterfinalist team, including the fourth-place doubles team of Addy Joslin and Lauren Muller.
D-NH improved to 12-0 on the season with an 8-1 victory over Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck in Dike on Thursday, Aug. 28.
“Every day, we’re trying to grow our game,” D-NH head coach Reegan Zinkula said. “We’ve got a lot to still work on … placing the ball, how we’re going to move, working with our doubles partners, but we’re continuing to make progress every single day.”
The Wolverines are currently ranked #8 in Class 1A; Joslin is rated seventh individually in 1A and won her No. 1 singles match with Makenna Steinmeyer, 8-1, in the dual on Thursday.
Muller added an 8-1 win at No. 2 singles and Joslin and Muller were 8-1 winners at #1 doubles against Steinmeyer and Kamren Thomas-Henley.
Joslin and Muller have moved up to No. 1 doubles in place of Aida Tott and Izzy Norton, who graduated last spring after a runner-up finish in the 1A doubles tournament.
“They were the underdogs at state earlier this year, they snuck in there and then placed fourth,” Zinkula said of Joslin and Muller. “They’re still getting used to [No. 1 doubles] a little bit; they’re very nice and timid people going out to compete against the best of the best of every team. They’re obviously both very good players, too, and they work well together, but we’re working on communicating, identifying what’s going on on the other side of the net, so we can adjust that, too. But it’s fun to see them kind of connect together and see how much they’ve grown even from the spring.”
Haley Badker, the other returner in the D-NH lineup, won her No. 3 singles match, 8-0.
“The competition is bumping up for them and they’re stepping up to the challenge,” Zinkula said.
Aubrey Sadler landed the only win for GCGR, an 8-2 victory at No. 5 singles.
“She was our dark horse, so I’m happy there,” GCGR head coach Maddy Mahan said. “I hate that this is her first year out, I wish I had her all four years, but she’s learning a lot, growing, and I think she’s going to keep climbing that ladder.”
GCGR enters the first week of September at 4-5 overall, already a step up from the last four seasons of one- and two-win seasons.
“The first couple of years with this group of girls, it was all about learning technique and how to hit a ball, and now we’re bridging that gap into ‘How can we win?’,” Mahan said. “What can we do to put the ball away? It’s about playing smart, working on strategies and spacing and doing more than just getting the ball over the net.”
Dike-New Hartford 8, Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck 1
Singles
No. 1: Addy Joslin (D-NH) def. Makenna Steinmeyer, 8-1
No. 2: Lauren Muller (D-NH) def. Ashlynn Draper, 8-1
No. 3: Haley Badker (D-NH) def. Kamren Thomas-Henley, 8-0
No. 4: Autumn Meester (D-NH) def. Madison Mayo, 8-2
No. 5: Aubrey Sadler (GCGR) def. Tareya Johnson, 8-2
No. 6: Payton Foster (D-NH) def. Kaydence Kuiper, 8-0
Doubles
No. 1: Joslin/Muller (D-NH) def. Thomas-Henley/Steinmeyer, 8-1
No. 2: Badker/Meester (D-NH) def. Ellanie Aswegen/Sadler, 8-4
No. 3: Johnson/Foster (D-NH) def. Mayo/Kuiper, 8-2
JAKE RYDER SPORTS 