Bobcats buzz past Riverhawks
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kaelyn Coleman stings a backhand return during her No. 2 singles match against Lilly Geving of Mason City in Monday’s Class 2A Region 3 first-round tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex. Coleman overcame a bee sting to her right hand to win her match and help the Bobcats prevail 5-0.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown sophomore Sophie Boone hits a running return against Allison Long during their No. 5 singles match in Monday’s Class 2A regional tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Trista Bratland comes to the net to finish off a point against Labella Clark of Mason City during Monday’s regional tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex. Bratland scored the clinching victory for the Bobcats.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Kaelyn Coleman stings a backhand return during her No. 2 singles match against Lilly Geving of Mason City in Monday’s Class 2A Region 3 first-round tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex. Coleman overcame a bee sting to her right hand to win her match and help the Bobcats prevail 5-0.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown sophomore Sophie Boone hits a running return against Allison Long during their No. 5 singles match in Monday’s Class 2A regional tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown senior Trista Bratland comes to the net to finish off a point against Labella Clark of Mason City during Monday’s regional tennis dual at the Marshalltown Court Complex. Bratland scored the clinching victory for the Bobcats.
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Getting stung by a bee is not traditionally considered to be good luck, but some spiritual beliefs view it as a wake-up call, a sharp jolt before a positive change, or a sign to pay closer attention to life's direction.
Marshalltown senior Kaelyn Coleman thought it was just her luck, but she didn't let it affect her final home meet.
Coleman and the Marshalltown girls' tennis team took care of Mason City in Monday's Class 2A Region 3 first-round pairing, putting away the Riverhawks 5-0 in the best-of-nine format at the Marshalltown Court Complex.
Coleman, icing her racket hand in between side changes, dealt with the adversity of her first-ever bee sting and helped the Bobcats advance.
"I got stung in the first game on my first set," said Coleman, who defeated Mason City's Lilly Geving 6-3, 6-4. "I've never been stung by a bee before, so it hurt really bad. It was hard to grip my racket. My hand swelled up a lot and it kept shaking."
Having already defeated Mason City (2-9) during Iowa Alliance Conference play in the regular season, 10-1, the Bobcats took the drama out of the day by finishing off the Riverhawks before reaching doubles play.
Kate Sandvick, who last week became Marshalltown's first state singles qualifier in 16 years, scorched Estella Huesman, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 1 position. Hanna Osgood got a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Berlin Iles at No. 3, and Coleman overcame a different challenge at No. 2.
"I think it went good, I just had to focus on gripping my racket differently so that I could hold it and still do my shots without putting a lot of pressure on it," Coleman said. "It was a little awkward at first and I think that's why I got down in a couple games in the first and second sets."
Karolina Cross was the second Bobcat to finish off her opponent, sweeping Genevieve Foreshoe 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4, and Trista Bratland took down Labella Clark 6-1, 3-6, (10-8) at No. 6 to end the match.
MHS sophomore Sophie Boone was in the midst of a barnburner at No. 5, tied at 6-3, 4-6, but the completion of her contest against Allison Long wasn't necessary when the Bobcats got the deciding fifth win.
In its first team competition since Sept. 10, Marshalltown made good on the opportunity to move on.
"It was great to see that big yellow thing in the sky today and actually play some tennis outdoors in a competitive manner," said MHS head coach James Christensen. "We hadn't done a lot of that.
"It's not something that we're able to recreate at our one indoor court, but we try to put them in some competitive situations. Coach (Thad) Lents and I dusted off the rackets and sneakers, so a chance to beat us is something that gets them up a little bit. We did that on Friday to get the competitive juices going."
Marshalltown jumped out to a commanding lead across the board, winning the first set at all six spots before the momentum wore off. The Bobcats trailed in four second sets and even lost two of them, but Bratland's third-set super-tiebreaker triumph finished off the Riverhawks.
"We just talked about taking care of business," Christensen said. "You know, we don't want to play to the level of our opponent, we want to play to the level of our next opponent. We know Cedar Rapids Washington is going to be a good team, so we're trying to play today with them in mind, and i think we were halfway successful with that today."
The Bobcats visit Cedar Rapids on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. dual against the Warriors (8-5) at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Center adjacent to Kingston Stadium. In the event of wet weather, the regional semifinal match will be moved to Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Coe College's Clark Racquet Center.