DES MOINES -- Maharishi
School girls' tennis coach Laurie Eyre had been waiting several
years to get her squads to the Class 1A state team tennis meet.
After
six times of getting so close, the Pioneers did better than expected
once they got to the big stage.
Maharishi School, seeded
fourth in the four-team tournament, beat second-seeded Red Oak 5-3
in the consolation match to take third in their first appearance in
the final four. The Pioneers (14-2) opened with a tough 6-3 setback
to top-seeded Spirit Lake/Okoboji. Eyre's team was not embarrassed
at any point.
"We came up here just wanting
to play with some dignity and energy," the coach said. "I was
pleased with both matches. I thought we had a chance to beat Red
Oak, but it was a matter if we had enough gas left in the tank after
three long days of tennis. The girls were remarkable and played
their best tennis of the year."
Maharishi School and Red Oak
were all square 3-3 after singles play. Both teams had pulled out
hard-fought matches to get in the win column, and each squad split
three-set matches in singles play. Martha Davis, who finished sixth
in the state singles competition, held off Melodia Morales 6-3, 0-6,
7-6 (2) to give Red Oak a 2-0 lead. The Pioneers' Tasha Blitz pulled
out a 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 win over Allison Bloom in the No. 4 singles
match to tie the match 2-all. Dariana Travis withstood an 0-3
first-set deficit and then a rain delay in her match with Rachel
Quinn, but rallied to take a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
The Pioneers took both
doubles matches, as Coral and Melodia Morales defeated Amy Pierson
and Davis 6-4, 6-2. Avery Gibson and Travis defeated Brittney
Browning and Andrea Metz 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the victory at 9:15
Saturday evening.
For the complete story and
scores, read the June 7 Fairfield Ledger.