Manitowoc Lincoln Sophomore Olivia Minikel has advanced to the Round of 16 at the WIAA State Girls Individual Tennis Tournament in Madison.
Minikel-seeded ninth defeated Helen Hicks of Brookfield East 6-0,-6-0 then knocked off Junior Lilly Holmberg from Hudson 6-1, 6-2 improving her season record to 26-0.
Ships Head Coach Stephanie Henschel says Olivia had a fantastic day.
“The first match was not as difficult as the second match,” she explained. “The girl from Hudson definitely hit the ball harder and she had a little more difficulty before winning the last three games of the second set to pull away and win. I think it’s good to have a little bit of a challenge heading into Friday morning.”
Meanwhile, Senior McKenna Pleuss and Junior Hannah Dvorak weren’t so fortunate as they lost to Wheeler and Lusinski of Menominee 7-5 and 6-3.
“They made it to the State Tournament which is a huge accomplishment for any team,” Henschel commented. “They played very well but just came up a little bit short. They should be very proud of how they played and represented their school.”
They finish their season with a very respectable record of 16 and 5.
As for Minikel she draws Freshman Maisha Nagpal from Verona who’s seeded eighth and has a record of 31 and 4.
Henschel said they will prepare by “watching her in warmups in the first couple of games and hopefully find some places we can pick on her a little bit and Olivia can use her strengths to beat her.”
The match is scheduled to start at 10:30 this morning with the winner moving onto the quarterfinals later this afternoon.
