Clear Lake girls tennis team does well at Regionals

Singles player Kirsten Jordan and the doubles team of Lindsey Loudenburg and Gretchen Jones finished the season in style by placing third out of 16 in the 1A Regional Tennis Tournament held at Luther College in Decorah on Thursday, May 21.  Both were runners-up to the top two state qualifiers in singles and doubles.

Jordan, the number four seed, began her push for State by first defeating Decorah’s Anna Kane, 6-2, 7-5 in the first round.  She then moved on to defeat Osage’s Klaire Chisholm, 6-4, 6-1, to claim a spot in the semi-finals against  

number one seeded Hannah Fox, of Waverly.  Although Jordan played an excellent match, she fell just short, 2-6, 1-6 to the state competitor, allowing her to claim the third place finish against Waverly’s Jordyn Mason.

“Kirsten has been a steady, confident player for us all year.  She had a great day and a great season,” said Coach Mary Jo Peterson.

Clear Lake’s number one doubles team of Lindsey Loudenburg and Gretchen Jones found similar success.  Also the fourth seed in doubles competition, they faced a competitive Decorah team first round, but stayed aggressive to win, 7-5, 6-1, before moving on to the quarters to defeat Independence, 6-1, 6-4.  

The Lions then met the number one seeded Waverly team in the semi-finals.  After losing the first set 0-6, the Lions rallied and kept pace with the Waverly team, but fell just short of a berth in the State tournament in an exciting 5-7 second set.   

Loudenburg and Jones continued their fight to claim third place by defeating Decorah’s top team, seeded third, 6-2, 6-4.

“They made adjustments, stayed aggressive, and just never gave up.  Lindsey and Gretchen played some of their best tennis today,” said Coach Peterson.

Kiersten Baalson and Reagan Brackey also competed in doubles representing Clear Lake and won their first round in the tournament against Hampton, 6-0, 6-0 before losing to a tough Decorah team, 1-6, 0-6.  Senior Kylie Bottjen, playing singles, lost 1-6, 2-6 to the second seed, Amber Schwarting of Osage, who eventually qualified for State.  

“Kylie had an amazing combined singles and doubles season record of 24-2 this year,” noted Peterson.

Along with a third place at the North Central Invitational and second place at the Waverly Quad, the Lions finished the regular season with a respectable 8-2 record.  

“We had a lot of success.  The senior leadership and play of Jordan, Bottjen and Loudenburg will be missed,” added Coach Peterson.