The Ellsworth boys' tennis team had a big year. They went from not having enough personnel to field a complete varsity match to having a couple extra. From this new surplus, the Panthers will retain almost everyone as only one of the boys was a senior. 

Head Coach Beth Friedrichsen was understandably pleased by these developments, saying the amount of learning and growth that happened in such a short season is remarkable.

“I am really excited to see what the future holds,” Friedrichsen said. “Tennis is a very frustrating sport and sometimes you are your own worst enemy, actually, many times. The guys all worked very hard, were coachable and made strides in the mental aspect of the game.”

While some of the core group that will return next season had prior experience, players like freshmen Thomas Helseth and Gavin Starbuck had never played before coming in. They even had upper classmen like junior Parker Bierbrauer join for the first time and make contributions to the team.

“Overall, I am just really proud of this group of boys. About 75% of them had never played tennis before, and it is a tough, tough sport to learn,” Friedrichsen said. “You have to be your own scorekeeper, referee, coach, cheerleader and play the game. It is tough, and I could not be more proud of how much they all grew.” 

In the interest of growing that program further, the Panthers will host an all ages youth camp for interested kids to get acquainted with the game.

It will be held from June 23-26 and will be broken up into time slots by age group. The portion for high schoolers will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m., middle schoolers from 3-4:30 p.m., and the youngest group of 4th and 5th graders will be from 2-3 p.m.

For more information on how to sign up please contact Beth Friedrichsen at friedrichsenb@ellsworth.k12.wi.us

RF advances two tennis players at sectionals

The River Falls Wildcats tennis team will advance two of its members to the state tournament on Thursday at UW-Madison Neilsen Tennis Stadium.

While the team as a whole fell short of advancing to the sectional round of play, Sam Majerus and Henry Whipkey did more than that at John and Fay Menard YMCA Tennis Center in Eau Claire on Wednesday.

First up was a match against Marshfield, which they won rather handily. The first set was marginally close at 6-3, but they won the second set 6-1 and advanced to the next round against Eau Claire Memorial. They would ultimately lose that one, but they had already done enough to punch their ticket to state with that first win.

Head Coach Joe Young was understandably pleased with the outcome at sectionals but says they are focused on the next step.

“The individual state tournament starts Thursday. The first day of the tournament is packed with matches - a high energy environment. As the draw thins out, the atmosphere settles down somewhat,” Young said.

The state tournament in Madison will be single elimination, so it’s sudden death, win or go home every step they take from here to a state championship. Majerus and Whipkey will take the court for their first match at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon.

Charity All-Star Game

Each year the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association puts on an All-Star Game and invites a select group of the best players from around the state to play.

The “game” actually consists of 10 total games with two teams drawn per division for boys and girls. For Division 2 boys, the River Falls Wildcats will send Joey Butz to represent them; for Division 3 girls, the Ellsworth Panthers will send Molly Janke and for Division 5 girls, the Spring Valley Cardinals will send Mara Ducklow.

WBCA All-Star games showcase seniors of each division who possess great talent and tremendous character. Each of these players has been extraordinary both on and off the court during their careers; they are tremendous young athletes and have left their marks on their individual programs with a pile of school records between them.

Butz is coming off perhaps the most prolific single season in Wildcats history where he set the records for most points, most three-pointers and was an All-State selection by the WBCA, to name a few. Likewise, Janke capped off her huge high school career by garnering the most total points, rebounds, assists and three-point shots in the history of her program. Finally, Mara Ducklow became the first basketball player in school history to break 1,000 points.

The WBCA All-Star games started back in 1978, and each year the purpose of these games is to raise money for worthwhile charities.

The games will be played at JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Thursday, June 27 at the following times:

9 a.m. Division 5

11 a.m. Division 4

1 p.m. Division 3

3 p.m. Division 2

5 p.m. Division 1

Girls’ soccer heads into postseason on a high note

The River Falls Wildcats played two games this week, first beating Hudson 1-0 at home on Wednesday and then tying Eau Claire Memorial 0-0 on the road on Thursday.

It was a pair of tight games for the Wildcats who will finish the season just short of a Big Rivers Conference title. Although River Falls played strong in every facet of the game, finishing just three points behind first place New Richmond on the season, they simply had too many instances where they couldn’t get over the hump and score the winning goal.

Over the last 15 games of the season, they went a combined 7-1-7. Although they only lost one of those matches, seven ties is just far too many if you want to win a conference championship.

Still, the Wildcats feel like they are strong on both sides of the ball, and they have talked internally about capitalizing on opportunities to score and finishing drives. The River Falls girls’ soccer program has a list of accolades as long as your arm over the last 14 years under Head Coach Charles Conley, so the smart money says they figure it out in the postseason.

The regional round of play will begin this week for the girls when they host Altoona/Fall Creek at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Wildcat Field in River Falls.