Comets host Lions in lone home girls tennis meet of the season

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — You can always go back home, it’s just that you can’t stay for too long.

At least that’s the case for the Charles City girls tennis team, which hosted its lone home meet of the season Tuesday against Clear Lake at Sportsmen’s Park.

“We hope to host more next season,” Comets coach Brian Parrott said. “But we probably need to build two more courts here.”

With their former home courts demolished to make room for the new middle school, Sportsmen’s Park is the Comets’ new home for the immediate future.

Against the Lions, the Comets only won one of the nine varsity matches. It was the No. 6 singles match featuring Charles City freshman Jody Sindlinger against Maranda Harrison.

Sindlinger won the first set, 6-2, and was on the verge of shutting Harrison out in the second set before Harrison rallied to win four straight games.

Sindlinger eventually put her away, 6-4, for the straight-set victory.

“Jody never played organized tennis before, so she has really come along,” Parrott said. “But the whole group is improving.

“We started playing a 4 p.m. … and what time is it now? Eight? We may not be winning matches, but we’re playing longer sets and keeping the ball in play.”

In No. 2 singles, Comet senior Sarah Barry was a point away from winning the first set against Kiersten Baalson before Baalson came back to win 7-5 and took the momentum into the second set and won 6-0.

Charles City’s No. 4 singles player Emilee Bilharz won the first set against Reagan Brackey (6-2), before Brackey evened the match in the second set (6-4) and then won the tie-breaker (10-7).

Clear Lake’s Gretchen Jones defeated Julia Page 6-1, 6-0 to win No. 1 singles. Chloe Mueller defeated Charles City junior Morgan Kellogg 6-1, 6-4 to win No. 3 singles. And Clear Lake’s Maddy Brant defeated Emma Heidebrink 6-3, 7-5 to win No. 5 singles.

“Emma played a tough match,” Parrott said. “It was one of the longer matches for us this season.”

Earlier, the Lions swept the doubles with Jones and Baalson defeating Page and Barry 1-10 in No. 1; Mueller and Brackey holding off Kellogg and Bilharz 10-7 in No. 2; and Brant and Ali Witt stopping Heidebrink and Sindlinger 7-4 in No. 3.

Charles City picked up several JV singles victories compliments of Sandra Bontemps and Amy Boggess.

“Our JV players have been doing well for us this season,” Parrott said.

Charles City has several regular-season match on the schedule before the postseason. The Comets will travel to Oelwein on Thursday, then to Aplington-Parkersburg on Monday for a makeup match