Lehfeldt, Pelletier are No. 1 doubles champs

Good things come in small packages.

And that came true for Brandon Valley’s flight 1 doubles team Sept. 28 at the ESD Conference Championships. The sophomore duo of Tanna Lehfeldt and Sydney Pelletier (seeded second) shocked the ESD crowd with an amazing come-from-behind win over top-seeded Mitchell, which won the previous two meetings 10-3, 10-8. This time, however, the Lynx walked off the court as flight 1 champions behind their 11-10(3) victory over Avery Larson and Sammy Pooley.

“It looked bad for us early,” Lynx head coach Adam Rothenberger said. With the BV duo trailing 4-1, a questionable line call made by Mitchell was just the firepower Lehfeldt and Pelletier needed to ignite the comeback.

But the comeback victory didn’t come easily.

“They had to battle for every point and game to cut into the lead,” Rothenberger said. “Tanna and Sydney were able to take the lead at 10-9, but Mitchell delayed their victory by holding serve to force a match tiebreaker.”

BV lost the first point of the tiebreaker on another questionable double bounce call, but didn’t give up en route to pulling off the 7-3 upset.

“Despite being sophomores, they proved in that match that they are capable of handling big moments mentally and are poised for some great things the next couple years,” Rothenberger said.

Lehfeldt also had some success in her flight 1 singles role, where she rallied to post another come-from behind victory against Watertown’s Abbi Cummings, a competitor she fell to early on in the season. Her 2-1 record on the day landed her in third place.

Annabelle Schultz also posted a 2-1 record to win the Flight 4 consolation title. 

As a team, the Lynx, who were forecast to finish in sixth or seventh, claimed fifth, which should serve the team well as they enter state tournament play this Thursday.

“We hope to take this success with us as we prepare for the state tournament,” Rothenberger said.

Mitchell dual

For the second time this season, Mitchell dominated the Lady Lynx in dual tennis action by taking eight out of nine matches on Sept. 26. Coach Rothenberger said that while the outcome was lopsided, the Lynx played the Kernels “tougher than the first time we saw them.”

Annabelle Schultz (flight 4 singles) recorded BV’s only win of the dual, a 10-7 victory over Ashley Jones.

Tanna Lehfeldt (flight 1) and Sydney Pelletier (flight 2) both turned in improved performances in their respective singles matches, with Lehfeldt battling to a 11-9 finish against Sammy Pooley. Pelletier lost 10-7 to Avery Larson.

“Both held a lead late in the match but were unable to hang on to it, which made the loss a little harder for them to take; but I know they will use those losses as motivation to overcome when they see them again at ESD and state,” Rothenberger said.

In doubles action, they took Pooley and Larson to task, but fell short in the 10-8 outcome.

The Lady Lynx close out their 2017 season at the state tournament, which will be played Thursday through Saturday on courts in Brandon and at McKennan Park in Sioux Falls, with play beginning at 9 a.m. all three days.

 

ESD Conference

Team scores: Mitchell 309, Watertown 270, Pierre 189, Harrisburg 176, Brandon Valley 108, Yankton 97, Aberdeen Central 60, Brookings 20, Huron 10.

Lady Lynx results – Singles-Flt. 1-Sydney Rott (H) def. Tanna Lehfeldt 10-6; Lehfeldt def. Audrey Moran (W) 7-5; Lehfeldt def. Anne Knoff (Y) 10-8. Flt. 2-Cassandra Ryckman (P) def. Sydney Pelletier 8-6; Abbi Cummings (W) def. Pelleiter 10-5. Flt. 3-Mirra Frohling (AC) def. Kate Lundberg 8-6; Kelsey Dahme (M) def. Lundberg 10-2. Flt. 4-Annabelle Schultz (BV) def. Abby Thomas (H) 8-1; Ashley Jones (M) def. Schultz 10-7; Schultz def. Maddie Binder (Y) 8-2. Flt. 5-Hannah Hatch (H) def. Adriauna Alexander 8-2; Sarah Zimmerman (M) def. Alexander 10-1. Flt. 6-Emma Rangel (H) def. Marie Pelletier 8-4; Sabrina Kintz (P) def. Pelletier 10-5. Doubles-Flt. 1-Lehfeldt/S. Pelletier def. Gonsor/Douglas (AC) 10-3; Lehfeldt/S. Pelletier def. Larson/Pooley (M) 11-10-(3); Lehfeldt/S. Pelletier def. Knoff/Krajewski (Y) 10-4. Flt. 2-Harmer/Markman (H) def. Lundberg/Schultz 10-5; Tennant/Papstein (Y) def. Lundberg/Schultz 8-3. Flt. 3-Hatch/Meyer (H) def. Alexander/M. Pelletier 8-6; Cummings/Zink (W) def. Alexander/M. Pelletier 10-2.

BV 1, Mitchell 8

Singles: Sammy Pooley (M) def. Tanna Lehfeldt 11-9; Avery Larson (M) def. Sydney Pelletier 10-7; Kelsey Dahme (M) def. Kate Lundberg 10-2; Annabelle Schultz (BV) def. Ashley Jones 10-7; Sarah Zimmerman (M) def. Adriauna Alexander 10-0; Kiersten Bathke (M) def. Marie Pelletier 10-5; Doubles: Pooley/Larson (M) def. Lehfeldt/S. Pelletier 10-8; Dahme/Jones (M) def. Lundberg/Schultz 10-5; Zimmerman/Bohlen (M) def. Aleander/M. Pelletier 10-5.