Gaels add one for the thumb
St. Edmond girls earn fifth straight NCC crown
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Over the last five seasons, nobody has been better in the North Central Conference than the St. Edmond girls tennis team.
The Gaels cemented their status as queens of the court yet again here on Wednesday, capturing a fifth consecutive league tournament title to go along with the NCC’s dual crown they secured earlier this week.
All four entrants in the field placed in the Top-4 for St. Edmond, led by championship runs from Abby Huss in singles and the doubles duo of Sophia Schlienz and Olivia Andrew.
Chloe Palmer reached the singles final, placing second, and the doubles team of Jade Rock and Kaci McGonegle took fourth.
"To win five in a row is a huge testament to how much the girls on this team and the girls of past years have put into this program," SEHS head coach Shawn Neverman said. "I'm just lucky to have been along for the ride."
Palmer, the No. 2 seed in the top flight of singles, reached the championship round with a super-tiebreak win in the semis over Jordyn Carpenter from Iowa Falls-Alden, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 (10-6). The senior, who has been less than 100 percent health-wise recently, was matched up with top seed Sofia Aliena from Charles City when Neverman made the decision to pull her from the match.
"Chloe really gutted out that win in the semis," Neverman said. "During the match, she re-injured her ankle that she hurt a couple of weeks ago. I watched her come up slow on a short shot in the first set and she still found a way to fight through the pain to win.
"I made the call to pull her from the competition. Chloe is needed for postseason tennis, and she's also a starter on our volleyball team."
Palmer, Huss and Andrew all played in a dual at Hampton-Dumont/CAL on Tuesday before heading to Forest City for a five-set volleyball match – won by the Gaels. They all turned around and were back on the tennis court early Wednesday morning.
Huss had little trouble winning gold in the second flight of singles. She won by a score of 6-2, 6-0 over Abby Heckert of Webster City after receiving a bye. In the finals, she topped Kyrstin Miller of Iowa Falls-Alden, 6-2, 6-2.
"Abby showed she was the deserving No. 1 seed in that flight," Neverman said. "She completely dominated in all three matches."
Schlienz and Andrew also received a bye in the top doubles flight, earning a 6-3, 6-1 win over a team from Iowa Falls-Alden in the semis. They then topped No. 2 seed Maddie Loge and Jacelyn Ainley of Clear Lake for gold, 6-3, 6-3.
Rock and McGonegle earned a win in the second flight of doubles in the opening round, falling to eventual bracket winners Gracey Smith and Paige Geitzenauer of Clear Lake in the semis. They lost the third place match to Emmalyn DeWeese and Hailey Carpenter of Iowa Falls-Alden.
"Sophia and Olivia took care of business as the No. 1 seed," Neverman said. "They were 1-1 against that team from Clear Lake, so it was a toss-up match, but they came ready to win and looked great. I was very happy for the girls.
"Jade and Kaci battled all day. I'm super proud of how they played in a third-set tiebreaker (to win in the first round) because in a meet like this, every point is crucial. They came up big."
St. Edmond finished with 26 points to secure the crown. Clear Lake was second with 23. Iowa Falls-Alden placed third, followed by Webster City, Charles City, Nevada and Hampton-Dumont/CAL.