BEMIDJI - The Bemidji High School girls tennis team kept rolling, as the Lumberjacks swept Hibbing 7-0 on Friday afternoon.
It was a perfect first week of the season for the Lumberjacks, who improved to 2-0 in dual meets after they won the Pine City Invitational on Monday.
“It’s always good to start out quick,” said sophomore captain Abbie Kelm. “But we all play tennis in the summer, so we’ve all been playing for awhile now.”
Kelm and fellow captain, senior Alexis Konecne, got Bemidji started strong with Kelm winning 6-0, 6-1, in No. 1 singles while Konecne won 6-0, 6-0, in No. 2 singles to give the Lumberjacks a 2-0 dual lead.
Junior No. 4 Olivia Jones gave her team the decisive fourth win on Wednesday when Bemidji beat Alexandria 4-3, but Jones made it 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-3, win. In No. 3 singles, senior Nikki Anderson-Weir won 6-2, 6-0, to finish out singles competition and make it 5-0 overall.
“Nikki came out with a good effort and was a bit more aggressive than Wednesday,” said head coach Mark Fodness. “I thought Olivia did a nice job and Abbie and Alexis took care of business once again.”
The Lumberjacks’ doubles teams struggled a bit on Wednesday as they went 1-2 against the Cardinals, but the teams improved Friday to help finish the sweep.
The No. 3 doubles team of junior Kate Langerak and sophomore Laura Palmer were the first off the court for the doubles as they won 6-2, 6-1, to give Bemidji its fourth point to clinch the win.
Sophomore Sam Edlund and freshman Taylor Offerdahl played No. 1 doubles and won 6-4, 6-2.
The No. 2 doubles team of senior Adriane Rickert and junior Shelby Eichstadt won 6-0, 7-5, to complete the 7-0 sweep.
“Our No. 3 doubles team (Langerak/Palmer) was the first time we played them together and I thought they played pretty steady and was our most consistent doubles team today,” Fodness said.
“First and second doubles had great moments and still at times let it slip away, we still have to work on that consistency we’re looking for, but had flashes of really good tennis.”
The doubles teams might not be consistent yet, but the team overall consistently won in the opening week of the season.
On Monday the Lumberjacks won the Pine City Tournament before beating Alexandria on Wednesday.
They will look to keep the hot rackets going at 10 a.m. Monday when they travel to Pequot Lakes to play Pequot Lakes and Little Falls in a tri-meet.
“We just need to keep playing and keep practicing,” Kelm said. “Just get out to the court as much as we can and work on the things we need to and try to get that team point.”
Bemidji 7, Hibbing 0
Singles
No. 1: Kelm def. Scipioni, 6-0, 6-1
No. 2: Konecne def. Marshall, 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: Anderson-Weir def. Farr, 6-0, 6-0
No. 4: Jones def. Poussey, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1: Edlund/Offerdahl def. Hyduke/Hoag, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2: Eichstadt/Rickert def. Warner/Valentine, 6-0, 7-5
No. 3: Langerak/Palmer def. Rewertz/Maki, 6-2, 6-1
