Norway won the Kingsford Invitational girls tennis tournament on Saturday, From left, front, are Marissa Pipp, Myah Gilroy, Tori Trudeau, Emily Carlson, and Lyla Tomlanovich; back, Jessa Rossler, Kara Stanchina, Jordyn Moln, Ella Wojtowicz, Lilly Tomlanovich and Amara Humphreys. (Courtesy photo)

The Norway tennis team came out on top Saturday, winning the annual Kingsford Invitational.

“This was our first year at the invitational and I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome. Not only did the girls play well individually, they came together as a team,” said coach Cassandra Gustafson.

The Knights faced Kingsford, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, West Iron County, and Ironwood, and came home with three first-place finishes and one second place.

Ella Wojtowicz controlled each of her matches from start to finish at the No. 2 singles position and Jessa Rossler breezed past the competition at the No. 4 singles spot. Myah Gilroy and Emily Carlson went toe to toe with their opponent and earned the hard fought win. Tori Trudeau played to the bitter end with multiple tie breakers to secure her second-place finish.

The No. 1 singles matches were intense. Jordyn Moln played for over 2.5 hours against Iron Mountain in the first match alone.

“All of the teams had solid competition and it was fun to watch,” Gustafson said.

The No. 4 doubles teams also endured marathon matches in the blazing sun.

“I look at this day as a great opportunity to prepare us for the Conference tournament and the UPs. Both are long days of tennis against some fierce competitors — many of which we faced Saturday. So now we have a feel for what it’s like to play all day and we know what we need to work on as we gear up for the end of season tournaments,” said Gustafson

Norway 5

Ironwood 3

On Wednesday, the Knights battled hard against Luther L. Wright, coming away with strong performances in both singles and doubles play.

Singles

At No. 1 singles, Jordyn Moln (11) earned a gritty win over Jacinta Lauzon (12) in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 11-9. At No. 2 singles, Ella Wojtowicz (12) dominated Breanna Freeman (11), winning 6-0, 6-1. At No. 3 singles, Tori Trudeau (11) also came out on top in a tight match against Maddy Kane (11), 7-5, 10-8. At No. 4 singles, Alexis Downs (12) played her first singles match at the Varsity level. While she fought hard to play the whole court on her own, ultimately she fell to Otylia Golebiowski (10) in three sets, 5-7, 6-0, 6-10.

Doubles

At No. 1 doubles, Kara Stanchina (12) and Lilly Tomlanovich (10) picked up a straight-sets victory, 6-4, 6-1, over Nolan-Couillard/Carland. At No. 3 doubles, Emily Carlson (10) and Myah Gilroy (11) also turned in a strong performance, winning 6-0, 6-2 against Tibaldo/Schiller. At No. 4 doubles, Amara Humphreys (10) and Lyla Tomlanovich (9) played until dark and then resumed their match at the the Kingsford Invitational and dropped a close one to Stehlik/Magdziak.