Lumberjacks fight to the finish in section

The team portion of the season ended for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team last week when the Lumberjacks fell to Cambridge in the opening round of the Section 7AA tennis tournament.

CEC came in as the No. 12 seed and were playing the No. 5 seeded Blue Jackets. The 'Jacks fought hard but came up short in the 5-2 loss Tuesday, Oct. 3.

Lumberjacks got a win at No. 2 singles from Addison Ranta, who defeated Isabelle Sullivan by a score of 3-6, 6-3 and 10-4.

"Addison started slow, but got better and better as the match went on," said CEC head coach Derek Johnson. "She got the match to the third set super tiebreaker, which means the first player to 10 points and ahead by two points would get the win, and she won that easily."

CEC's other win was at No. 1 doubles when Ella Chartier and Rylie Goranson came back from behind to win in a super tiebreaker by scores of 4-6, 7-6 (5) and 12-10.

"I knew it would be a tight match," Johnson said. "What was impressive was the way they kept fighting and not giving up."

No. 1 singles player Emilie Mattinen dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision to Evie Porta. CEC also lost at No. 3 singles when Paige Goranson dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to Morgan Okerlund and at No. 4 singles when DJ Vernon fell 6-0, 6-2 to Grace Weibel.

In doubles play, the CEC No. 2 team of Maddie Erickson and Emma Parks lost 6-4, 6-2, and the No. 3 team of Ellie Krube and Grace McIlvain lost 6-0 and 6-3.

"Despite coming in as the 12th seed, our girls really battled the entire match," Johnson said.

CEC got off to a solid start at the beginning of the year, but a combination of things slowed the team down as the season wore on.

"When school started, things got more difficult, because we spent so many late nights on the road, and practices were difficult because we didn't have our own home court," Johnson said. "The girls missed a lot of school, but I give them credit for competing. It is tough and challenging not being able to do some match play in practice. I do think that hurt us."

The team lacked a home court because the new Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium was not ready, which meant the team played all road games. Practices for the team were held at Pinehurst Park courts, but there were not enough courts for the large team - boasting roughly 40 players - to practice at one time, so they practiced in two waves of players all season. Johnson said the girls also missed having a traditional senior night when they had 12 seniors.

"We are definitely excited about the new complex for next season," Johnson said.

While the season ended for the team last week on Tuesday, CEC had six players representing the purple and white at the individual tournament Tuesday. Emilie Mattinen and Addison Ranta played singles, while Ella Chartier and Rylie Goranson plus Paige Goranson and Madison Erickson played doubles for the Lumberjacks.

Mattinen, CEC's No. 1 singles player, played a three-hour marathon match in her opening round and ended up winning over Cambell Amundson of Hermantown, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.

"It was a great match that just went back and forth," Johnson said. "The Hermantown girl had beaten her twice during the year, but Emilie found a way."

The long match took a lot out of her legs as she fell 6-2, 6-0 in her next elimination match.

Ranta also had a very good first match, but lost 6-2, 6-2 to Isla Pepenjak of Duluth East.

"It was a tight match and she battled," Johnson said.

In doubles, the No. 1 CEC team of Chartier and Rylie Goranson started hot, winning the first set 6-0 against the No. 2 Grand Rapids team. CEC lost the second set before rebounding and winning 6-1 in the final set to move to the second round.

"Once Ella and Rylie got rolling in the third quarter, they played really well," said Johnson. "In their second match, the top team from Rock Ridge just didn't make any mistakes and we lost that one 6-0, 6-0."

The No. 2 CEC doubles team of Paige Goranson and Erickson got off to a quick start by winning 6-3 over a team from Grand Rapids, but they were unable to sustain the momentum and ended up losing the next two sets to bow out of the tournament.

"They played so well in that first set, but they just couldn't sustain the momentum," Johnson said. "Overall, I was really pleased with how well we played both in the team and individual section games. Our girls battled and never quit, and I am proud of all of them."