Park players win, then lose in section tennis
Park’s top singles player Grace Townsend and top doubles team of Liv Evans and Madi Brinkman both won matches in the 3AA section girls’ tennis tournament Thursday before being eliminated in the later rounds.
Townsend won two matches before losing in round three in the girls' varsity individual sections at Baseline Tennis Center. She defeated Woodbury’s Angela Tupan 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round, then beat Izzy Mattaini of Cretin-Derham Hall 6-1, 6-2. Townsend then lost to Visitation’s Reese Foley 6-0 and 6-0 in round three.
Evans and Brinkman won their opening match, defeating Highland Park’s Claudia Rodriguez and Violet Somen-Valentine 6-1, 6-3. The Park dup then lost in the second round to Brooklyn Keller and Reese Keller of Hastings, 6-1 and 6-3.
Keira Brennan and Ava Youngquist of Park lost in the first round to Visitation’s Jordyn Jarpe and Kiersti Joerger, 6-0, 6-0.
Lauren Osland dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision in singles to Ela Cantellano of Harding/Como.
“I was so proud of our effort throughout the day for individual sections,” said Park head tennis coach Tony Townsend. “Grace Townsend played some of her best tennis of the season by winning in straight sets in rounds one and two. She was the sixth seed in the tourney, which is the highest we have had since her sister in 2021. She lost in the quarterfinals to the third seed. What a great season and career for Grace.
“Liv Evans and Madi Brinkman had an opening round win against Highland Park. They had to play the No. 1 seed from Hastings in round two. They lost this match but played outstanding as they pushed them hard in the second set,” Townsend added. “Our No. 1 singles (Lauren Osland) and No. 2 doubles (Keira Brennan/Ava Youngquist) both played seeded players in the first round. They lost in the first round but fought hard and battled in every point. It was so rewarding as a coach to see their strong work ethic and high energy flourish throughout the match.”

Thunderbolts drop 2-1 decision
After scoring 16 goals in its previous game, the South Washington County Thunderbolts managed just one in its last outing and dropped a 2-1 decision at Dakota United Tuesday in adapted soccer.
South Washington County fell to 22- on the season.
The Thunderbolts play at North/Tartan Tuesday, Oct.22.