RAPID CITY — Aberdeen Central and Watertown each turned in sold starts Thursday during the opening day of the state Class AA high school girls tennis tournament.
Aberdeen Central (237) was fourth and Watertown (224) fifth in the 14-team tourney.
“The girls played some great tennis today,” Watertown head coach Ryan Zink said. “Overall, I was pleased with how every one played.”
Championship matches were decided in doubles along with semifinal matchups in singles. The tourney is scheduled to conclude on Firday.
ESD GIRLS TENNIS: Mitchell captures ESD girls tennis tourney, followed by Yankton, Watertown & Aberdeen Central
Team Scores
Rapid City Stevens 332, Sioux Falls Lincoln 282, O’Gorman 241, Aberdeen Central 237, Mitchell 226, Watertown 224, Yankton 209, Sioux Falls Jefferson 175.5, Harrisburg 77, Brandon Valley 73, Sioux Falls Washignton 48, Brookings 26, Sioux Falls Roosevelt16.5 and Rapid City Central 0.
Watertown Highlights
Ellie Zink (first flight), Leyla Meester (second flight) and Jade Smith (sixth flight) each went 2-0 to advance to semifinal matches in singles.
Faith Berg (third flight) and Cayda Weiss (fifth flight) each went 1-1 and are in the fifth-place semifinals. Sophia Nichols dropped her first match at No. 4 singles before getting a bye into the consolation semifinals.
In doubles, Zink-Meester at No. 1 and Weiss-Smith at No. 3 each were 2-1 and will play for third place. Berg-Nichols finished 1-2 at No. 2.
“There are five teamsw within 20-30 points of third place, so there will be lots of tough matches in all flights,” Zink said. “The girls are tired after five matches on Thursday, but I know they’ll be ready to compete.”
Aberdeen Central Highlights
Reese Comstock and Chloe Ladner went 3-0 to reach the championship match in No. 2 doubles for the Golden Eagles. Comstock (No. 3) and Ladner (No. 4) each also went 2-0 to reach the semifinals in their respective singles flights.
Sarah Knie (fifth flights) also went 2-0 to reach the singles semis. Julie Knie (No. 1), Avery Tennant (No. 2) and Ashley Ortega (No. 6) each went 1-1 in singles and will play in fifth-place semifinal matches.
Mady Holman and Estelle Riggs went 2-1 at No. 3 doubles and are playing for fifth place. J. Knie and Tennant finished 1-2 in No. 1 doubles.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Highlights from opening day of state Class AA girls tennis tourney
