Tennis Team Loses To Northfield, Lahman Advances
22 May 2008

On paper it looked like a mismatch between the Northfield Lady Norse and the Manchester Lady Squires in the first round of the Peru Tennis Sectional.
Northfield beat Manchester 4-1 earlier in the season and came into sectional play as the defending champion sporting an 11-1 record.
Manchester, after a seven match losing streak, stumbled in their last two matches.
Regardless, the match came down to three nail-biting singles matches. Unfortunately for Manchester, Northfield won two of those matches, ending the Lady Squires’ season with a 7-7 record after the 4-1 loss.
Northfield had no trouble in the doubles matches, with the number one team of Jessica Dyson and Megaon LaConfora beating Katherine Tate and Jenna Alexander 6-1, 6-0, and the number two team of Addie Ratcliff and Stephanie Beck beating Whitnee Hidalgo and Sadie Preston 6-1, 6-0.
Despite Northfield’s quick 2-0 lead, Manchester took early control of all three singles matches.
Kristen Lahman held a 5-2 lead over Alex Trump, while Tara Gnagy took the first set from Erin Shannon 6-4. Julie Seifert led Marissa Meyer 4-3, but dropped the first set 6-4.
Trump fought back to cut the lead to 5-4, but Lahman held off the spunky sophomore and pulled out the set 6-4.
Gnagy led 4-3 in the second set when rain suspended play, but Seifert couldn’t beat the rain, or Miller, falling 6-4 in the second set.
“Julie did a great job in her match,” coach Tim McLaughlin said. “She hurt her wrist last match, and every time she hit a forehand, she felt pain. She certainly showed what a competitor she is.
“Tara was in control of her match, and it’s unfortunate that she couldn’t finish,” he continued.
With the team match determined, Lahman and Trump had to return to Thrush Courts on Friday to finish their match, with a possible berth into the state singles tournament on the line.
Lahman led 6-4, 30-0 heading into the second day of play, and once again, held on for a 6-4 win.
“This was a big win for Kristen,” McLaughlin said. “She had lost to Alexa twice this year already and knew she would have to play her best to win. We changed up her strategy a bit, and she played it perfectly. I’m really proud of her maturity and the way she keeps fighting and going after every ball.”
Lahman advanced to play Eastern’s number one singles player Tuesday in the first round of the singles sectional.
Go to www.nmpaper.com for results or check in next week’s News-Journal.
Loss To Mississinewa
The girls’ tennis team ended its season with a 4-1 loss to Mississinewa Tuesday night.
Lahman was the only Lady Squire to win, but the team score was much closer than it looked.
Lahman won her match 6-1, 7-6 (5), while Gnagy was edged 7-5, 7-5, and Seifert struggled through a wrist injury, losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The doubles team of Tate/Alexander lost 6-4, 6-3, and the team of Hidalgo/Preston lost 6-2, 6-1.
“We had a chance to win this match, but Mississinewa is a very good team,” head coach Tim McLaughlin said. “Julie showed a lot of toughness coming back from a bad fall on her wrist to even finish the match. Kristen played very well again, and Tara just couldn’t get those last games.
“The doubles teams played very well,” he continued. “They got better as the season progressed.”