Tennis wins twice

In a nutshell...today was a great day for Sauk Centre Mainstreeter varsity teams.

In a home triangular, the Mainstreeters girls' tennis team beat Parkers Prairie 7-0 and Wadena-Deer Creek 5-2. They take a 5-1 record into next week's lone match, when they host Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The Jaguars are 1-3 going into Saturday's trip to Milbank for a non-conference match.

At the Willmar Invitational, the Mainstreeter girls' swimming and diving team finished fourth out of seven teams in a loaded field. Up next for the squad is a home dual meet next Thursday against Albany. At Willmar, Alyssa Kohorst took first in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 freestyle. Danielle Banal, the other returning state swimmer on the team, took second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 50 freestyle.

Coach Schreiner said about the team's season-opening action, "I thought we looked great today. I'm very happy with our finish. We have one event next week with the home opener, and I hope we get a nice crowd to cheer us on against a very solid Albany squad."

At the Albany Invitational, the Mainstreeters volleyball team swept Watertown-Mayer, Albany and New London-Spicer in pool play and then faced state-ranked Maple Lake in the championship match. Coach Klaphake reported that his Mainstreeters jumped all over the Irish in game one in a 25-13 win. Maple Lake turned the tide in game two and won 25-22 and then 16-14 in a wild game three.

Klaphake added, "Game three was a battle the whole way. Our girls hung tough. I was pretty happy about how well we looked today, especially in the championship. Maple Lake brings back a good load of athletes from a state tournament team. At any given time I had three sophomores out there. For bringing back just two starters, we held our own and had a great day."

Up next for the volleyball team (3-1) is the home opener next Thursday with Montevideo coming to town. It will also mark the start of the West Central Conference schedule.

Read more coverage in the Aug. 28 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.