Fairfield's duo too much for Fort Madison girls

Posted

BY ETHAN LILLARD
PCC SPORTS

FORT MADISON - For Fairfield senior Anatta Charoenkul, Tuesday's matchup with Fort Madison appeared to be much like any other. For Fort Madison's Lanie Kuntz, Tuesday was going to be the one of the toughest matches she would play all season.

With Charoenkul and No. 2 singles player Yana Gaskell, probably the best one-two punch in the state, in tow, the Trojans handed Fort Madison an 8-1 loss in Fort Madison.

Kuntz battled back multiple times during her match with two-time state champion Charoenkul, but the three-peat hopeful came away with an 8-0 victory. The Bloodhounds No. 2, Larissa Ferrill, may not have been playing a past state champion, but she was paired up with one of the best underclassman she will see this year in Yana Gaskell. Much like Kuntz, Ferrill played her best possible match, but Gaskell proved to be too much, coming away with another 8-0 sweep.

The Bloodhounds No. 1 singles player Larissa Farrill returns a shot against Fairfield's Yana Gaskell Tuesday at Fort Madison High School. The girls fell 1-8 to the Trojans. Photo by Ethan Lillard/PCC

Zoe Ramatowski nearly gave Fort Madison a tally in the win column, but fell short 9-7 against Fairfield's No. 3, Nellie Higdon. The Bloodhounds No. 4, Kirklynn Nafziger, was the lone singles competitor to record a win for Fort Madison Tuesday, as Lily Cadwallader dropped her set 8-4 against Tess Paton. Alyse Schmidt pushed Fairfield's Destiny Gridley to an 8-8 tie, but Gridley shut out Schmidt in the tiebreaker 7-0 for the win.

Doubles were more successful for the Hounds in terms of total points scored, but not in terms of wins. Kunts and Ferrill teamed up in an attempt to takedown Charoenkul and Abby Schaefer, but fell just short 9-7. Ramatowski and Nafziger paired together to face the combo of Gaskell and Higdon, but the underclassman was too much, helping Fairfield come away with the 8-2 win. Cadwallader and Schmidt were the final pair of Hounds in doubles, dropping their set 8-5 to Paton and Gridley, giving Fairfield the 8-1 win.

“The final score does not show it, but we put up a good fight tonight,” Fort Madison Head Coach Jeremy Swink said. “It's no secret how tough Yana and Anatta are. There is no doubt they are the two best players in the state, props to Larissa and Lanie for being up for the challenge to take them on.

“Those two aside, our three through six matches in singles were competitive, our girls fought and didn't give up. We still have a few things we need to work on, but I am proud of our girls tonight for not giving up."

Fort Madison will have another crack on their home court Thursday as they take on Mount Pleasant in a makeup game from March 26.

Anatta Charoenkul, Fairfield, fort madison, girls, high school, iowa, Pen City Current, Tennis, varsity

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here