Port tennis wins some, loses some in busy stretch

The Port Washington High School girls’ tennis team has had a roller-coaster seven days with four matches and an invitational.

Most recently, Port beat Milwaukee Lutheran/Lake Country Lutheran on Monday, 6-1.

Port’s No. 2 singles player Zaara Rehman beat Kelby Dall, 7-5, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Madelyn Hughes beat Joie Bout, 6-1, 6-2. Ally Schueller beat Amara Daub, 7-5, 6-0, at No. 4 singles.

Port’s No. 1 doubles team of Tess Schueller and Ashley Zygowski won, 6-2, 6-4, over Caroline and Grace Daniels. Hope Christiansen and JoJo Czarnecki beat Faithe Sandretti and Malcy Hammer, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-3. Gaby Ortiz and Grace Neitzke beat Ella Stoppenbach and Eden May, 6-2, 6-1.

Coach Melonie Zielinski juggled the lineup at Saturday’s Bulldog Invite in Cedarburg. No. 1 singles player Kaylee Doll teamed with Tess Schueller at No. 1 doubles. They beat Taylor Riemer and Piper Devine of Wauwatosa East, 6-1, 6-4,  and lost to Cedarburg’s Zoe Larson and Carley O’Leary, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.

“Tess and Kaylee used low and deep returns to keep their opponents at bay and didn’t allow them to come to the net often, and they used key net placement to end points quickly,” Zielinski said.

Hughes at No. 2 singles beat Sabrina Blommel of West Bend East, 6-2, 6-4, and Sydney Brown of Cedarburg, 6-0, 6-4, before losing to Slinger’s Kacie O’Hearn, 6-3, 6-1, in the finals.

“Maddy Hughes rose to the occasion,” Zielinski said. “Her serve placement and consistency were her strong suits in both (victories).”

Last Thursday, Homestead didn’t lose a set in sweeping Port, 7-0. Hughes came the closest to winning one at No. 2 singles in a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Anna Strunets in what Zielinski called “an amazing match. Maddy was able to use low returns, placement and the net to her advantage.”

Port ran into a challenging opponent Sept. 15 at Cedarburg.

The Bulldogs swept the Pirates, 7-0. Only Hughes at No. 3 singles was able to win a set. She lost to Lauren O’Leary, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

The Pirates finished a rain-delayed match against West Bend East two weeks ago. The match started Friday, Sept. 11, but was stopped when it became too wet to play. The Pirates and Suns finished the match on Sept. 16.

Port won, 5-2, completing a sweep of the West Bend teams this season.

Three of the four Pirates’ singles teams won. At No. 1, Doll beat Olivia Heling, 6-3, 6-1.

At No. 3, Hughes beat Levi Wollner, 6-2, 6-1. At No. 4, Ally Schueller beat Laura Zautner, 6-1, 6-1.

At No. 1 doubles, Tess Schueller and Zygowski beat Alexandria Hernandez and Shayla Loiacono, 6-4, 6-1.

At No. 3 doubles, Ortiz and Neitzke beat Nikki Oleszak and Chloe Thomas, 6-2, 6-0.

On Sept. 3, the Pirates lost at Hartford, 5-2.

Rehman beat Maddy Mudra at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-4. Schueller and Zygowski beat Paige Baizley and Grace McCune, 6-2, 6-1.

On Sept. 1 at home, the Pirates topped West Bend West, 4-3.

Doll beat Sophia Neumann at No. 1 singles, 1-6, 6-4, 10-8. Rehman beat Christina Jones at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 7-5. Schueller beat Julia Michaelson at No. 4 singles, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Schueller and Zygowski beat Madeline Holbrook and Lola Cherner at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-2.

The Pirates are scheduled to host Grafton at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, before the conference tournament on Nicolet and Whitefish Bay courts Wednesday, Sept. 20, and Thursday, Oct. 1.