STAMBAUGH — At Nelson Field Tennis Courts in Stambaugh on Tuesday afternoon, West Iron County hosted Iron Mountain in non-conference girls tennis action. The home Wykons defeated the Lady Mountaineers 5-3.

“This was a turnaround from the previous time that we played them back in August when we lost 6-2 at the Kingsford Invite. I was proud of the way all the girls competed today,” said West Iron coach Joe Serbentas. All of the matches were really competitive, even the matches we dropped today.”

Iron Mountain coach Marcus Celello also had the last matchup between these two teams on his mind. “This was our first time this season playing a team for a second time, and it was clear they made some necessary adjustments while we may have been a bit complacent. It’s all part of learning and improving as individuals and as a team,” he said.

Celello added, “Claire Mongrain had another excellent showing today against a quality opponent. She showed a lot of poise and was in control most of the time. Despite losing her match, Elle Lofholm took a huge step forward. She moved around the court well, and as she continues to improve her footwork, she’s going to see improvements on the scorecard.”

Serbentas noted that he saw lots of good points out of the singles, in particular Aurora Dahl’s match at No. 3 and Kali Applin’s match at No. 2.

“Tori (Bociek) and Madison (Berutti) continue to play solid tennis at the top of the doubles lineup (No. 1). Their angle shots were excellent today and Tori finished off several points going down the alleys,” Serbentas said. “There has been steady improvement at the 2, 3, and 4 doubles the last couple matches which will give them confidence down the stretch run.”

Celello praised Danika Juul and Natalia Brown. “They did a great job communicating and making necessary changes throughout the match, especially when they got behind in the third set,” he said.

West Iron, who improves to 3-5 on the season, remains home to host Ishpeming today, and travels to Escanaba on Friday. Iron Mountain travels to Negaunee today, before returning home to host Kingsford on Monday.

West Iron 5, Iron Mountain 3

Singles:

No. 1 – Claire Mongrain, IM, def. Livea Mazurek, WIC, 6-1, 6-3

No. 2 – Kali Applin, WIC def. Arianna Morel, IM, 7-5, 6-4

No. 3 – Aurora Dahl, WIC def. Callie Bianco, IM, 6-1, 6-2

No. 4 – Brynlee Nodurft, WIC def. Elle Lofholm, IM, 6-2, 6-3

Doubles:

No. 1 – Tori Bociek-Madison Berutti, WIC, def. Bella Brown-Aziza Burgoon, IM, 6-1, 6-1

No. 2 – Danika Juul-Natalia Brown, IM, def. Katarina Hemeleski-Aubrey Bice, WIC, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-3

No. 3 – Rediet Husing-Anja Kleiman, IM, def. Autumn Smith-Callista Bortolameolli, WIC, 6-3, 7-5

No. 4 – Hailee Bradshaw-Bailey Hoffart, WIC, def. Anika Cameron-Emma Axberg, IM, 6-3, 6-2