It was their first tennis match of the season, but Blair High School doubles partners Shelby Wolff and Leah Chance kept their cool and enjoyed themselves Tuesday at Stemmermann Park.
The end result was an 8-4 No. 2 doubles win against a Platteview pair.
“I think, at first, it was a little rough, but we decided we were just going to play loose as it went on,” Wolff said.
The varsity victory led to an overall dual win for the Bears, 3-2. Coach David Christensen's squad won at Nos. 1 and 2 singles after Wolff and Chance shared smiles and laughs on their way to a 1-0 start.
“Shelby and I play better when we're relaxed,” Chance explained. “It's kind of a mental game, so when you're relaxed and having fun, we have more success.”
Even if they don't always clear the net or hit returns within the lines, the BHS seniors keep themselves thinking positively.
“We always just tap our rackets, and talk to each other and say, 'We'll get the next one,'” Wolff said.
No. 3 singles player Ana Dasa, and No. 1 doubles players Ally Sullivan and Abby Leggott, will look to win their next matches after opening-day defeats to Platteview, but both Abi Lundberg and Fiene Bakker are 1-0 like Wolff and Chance. Lundberg won her No. 1 singles match with a Trojan, 8-5, while Bakker topped her opposition by the same score in No. 2 singles play.
Platteview, meanwhile, won all four non-scoring matches contested Tuesday in Blair. Annemarie Proksel, Kylie Harvey, Tailyn Anderson, Roslyn Solano and Hadyn Ferguson represented the Bears in defeat, though both Harvey and Anderson played tight, 8-6 singles matches.
Though they won, both Wolff and Chance see room for improvement as the Blair tennis season continues.
“I think we just want to improve on our serving a lot,” Chance said, echoing what her teammate said in response to the same question about how their partnership could get better. “I feel like if our serves are better, then we're just going to be more dominant.”
The Bears were scheduled to compete Thursday against Omaha Gross and next play 4 p.m. Tuesday at South Sioux City. They also have a dual April 1 at Ralston.
BLAIR TENNIS 3, PLATTEVIEW 2
Tuesday at Stemmermann Park, Blair
Scoring Matches
Singles: Abi Lundberg won 8-5, Fiene Bakker won 8-5 and Ana Dasa fell 8-5.
Doubles: Ally Sullivan and Abby Leggott fell 8-6, and Leah Chance and Shelby Wolff won 8-4.
Non-Scoring Matches
Singles: Annemarie Proksel fell 8-1, Kylie Harvey fell 8-6 and Tailyn Anderson fell 8-6.
Doubles: Roslyn Solano and Hadyn Freguson fell 8-2.
