Girls tennis: Young Bulldogs continue to grow
May 4—OTTUMWA — For the second straight year, Leanna White talked about focusing on progress and growth at the beginning of the Ottumwa High School girls tennis season.
That progress and growth, for the second straight season, has been on full display in recent days from a pair of top-eight finishes in doubles play at the Pella Invitational over the weekend to CIML Metro-clinching dual win over Des Moines Roosevelt in which the Bulldogs won six of eight matches before showers arrived on Monday. Ottumwa players are growing and progressing at the right time of the season.
"Nellie (Morgan) has come a long way this season. Andrea (Francisco) has come a long way. So has Lily (Ades)," Ottumwa head girls tennis coach Leanna White said. "Those three newcomers to the varsity singles line-up, along with our three returning players, have stepped into some very tough spots. Everyone has kind of stepped up into their roles and played really well."
Morgan and Francisco joined Heller and Grade in making deep runs in the doubles tournament on Saturday at Pella helping the Bulldogs finish fifth with 40 total points. Heller and Grade placed sixth, winning a pair of matches in the consolation bracket beating Pella Christian junior teammates Lauren Johnson and Elaina Vos 8-3 before edging Pella teammates Claire Smock and Lily VanDusseldorp 8-6 in the consolation semifinals.
"Addison and I work really well together," Heller said. "We communicate well, tell each other what's open and tell each other what spots to go for. That's helped us out a lot this season."
Morgan and Francisco, meanwhile, played their way to an eighth-place finish at Pella rallying for an 8-6 win over Oskaloosa seniors Abby Drost and Autumn DeRonde in the first round of the tournament before earning another hard-fought 8-6 win in the consolation quarterfinals over Davis County teammates Jenna Marlow and Jada Will.
Morgan continued to show that fight and hustle on Monday against Des Moines Roosevelt senior Lilly Raker. The Bulldog freshman battled back after losing the opening set, 6-3, to win a 6-4 second set before winning the 10-8 third-set tiebreaker giving Ottumwa a commanding 5-1 lead in the dual.
"It was tough in the beginning, but in the end I was able to pull it out," Morgan said. "I figured out that (Raker) doesn't like coming up or going back. I made sure I placed the ball in a good spot. Working on my footwork this season has been very helpful. It's quite a workout, but it's been worth it."
Ottumwa's regularly-scheduled Senior Night dual on Tuesday with Waukee Northwest was postponed due to rain. Baring the dual being rescheduled, the Bulldogs (8-12, 4-0 CIML Metro) are scheduled to wrap up the regular season with a dual at Des Moines Hoover on Friday seeking to clinch the outright CIML Metro title before Ottumwa competes in the Class 2A regional singles and doubles tournament at Marshalltown on May 11.
"I enjoy the fact that I can be in control in singles, but doubles is a lot of fun," Heller said. "If I had to pick one to compete in at regionals, I would probably lean towards doubles.
"We want to have our strongest players together for that," White added.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
