By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
The Dowagiac varsity tennis team finished fifth at the Wolverine Conference Tennis Tournament held on Saturday.
Allegan won the championship with 79 points. Gull Lake was second with 71 points, while Vicksburg finished third with 56 points, Otsego fourth with 52 points and the Chieftains fifth with 39 points.
Rounding out the order of finish were Paw Paw (38 points), Three Rivers (32), Comstock (31), South Haven (25) and Plainwell (11).
The Lady Tigers won seven of the eight flight championships.
Haley Dekkinga defeated Tiffany Rheynard of Gull Lake at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Stevie Fortney defeated Kelly Schwartz of Gull Lake at No. 2 singles, 6-3 and 6-1.
Kelsey Harness captured the No. 4 singles title with a 7-6 and 6-2 victory over Laura Arnold of Gull Lake.
At No. 1 doubles, Shelby Schulz and Aly Gorby defeated Brittany Spencer and Elizabeth Shawaryn of Otsego, 6-1 and 6-1. Allegan's No. 2 doubles team of Courtney Diebold and Katie Haist defeated Gull Lake's Krystle Kandler and Emily Stadt, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
At No. 3 doubles, Carissa Hoyer and Rachel Cook defeated Gull Lake's Charlotte Slezak and Jessica Shannon, 6-4, 3-6 and 6-4, while at No. 4 doubles it was Kasey Gorby and Erica LaGuttuta over Gull Lake's Molly Schiff and Codi Sharp, 6-2 and 6-2.
Dowagiac played on Saturday without No. 1 singles player Taylor Townsend, who was seeded No. 3 for Saturday's tournament. Townsend is out due to illness.
The Chieftains' Ashley Smith played at No. 2 singles despite suffering a knee injury prior to the tournament. Smith finished fourth as Vicksburg's Katie Downs defeated her in the consolation finals. Smith won the first set 6-1, but had to retire down 2-5 in the second set.
Calie Daniels finished fifth at No. 3 singles as she defeated Allison Kruger, 6-1 and 7-5.
"Calie had a good day," Dowagiac coach Chuck Rubino said. "She beat two girls that she lost to earlier in the year. She is peaking at the right time."
Ashley Urbanski grabbed the top placing for the Chieftains as she was third at No. 4 singles.
Urbanski defeated Lyndsay Hammond of Vicksburg. Urbanski won the first set 7-5, while Hammond took the second set by the same score. Urbanski won the tiebreaker, 10-5.
Dowagiac's No. 1 doubles team of Kate Duszynski and Kayleigh Sundman finished eighth. The two competed despite being ill.
"They wanted to play," Rubino said. "They really gutted it out."
The remaining three doubles teams all finished sixth on the day.
The No. 2 doubles team of Tonya Scherer and Elizabeth Kolden lost to Otsego's Liz Lampen and Whitney DeYoung, 1-6 and 2-6.
At No. 3 doubles, Jessica Robinson and Kate Tyrakowski lost to South Haven's Katie Bleil and Osbon. After losing the first set, Robinson and Tyrakowski won the second set 6-3. They lost in the tiebreaker, 11-9.
Dowagiac's No. 4 doubles team of Ami Sarao and Kristan Stelmasiak lost to Otsego's Brittany Bogema and Hannah Wallace.
Sarao and Stelmasiak lost the first set, but rallied to win the second set 6-2. They lost the tiebreaker, 10-6.
"Overall, I thought the girls played extremely well," Rubino said. "Hopefully, we will have Taylor back for regionals on Thursday. We pulled Ashley because her knee was hurting and we didn't want to take any chances."
Dowagiac will compete in the Division 4 Regional Tournament on Thursday at Leeper Park in South Bend, Ind.
Wolverine Conference
Tennis Tournament
Team results
Allegan 79, Gull Lake 71, Vicksburg 56, Otsego 52, Dowagiac 39, Paw Paw 38, Three Rivers 32, Comstock 31, South Haven 25, Plainwell 11
Championship finals
Singles
1. Haley Dekkinga (A) d. Tiffany Rheynard (GL) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; 2. Lexi Rice (GL) d. Landria Christman (A) 6-1, 6-1; 3. Stevie Fortney (A) d. Kelly Schwartz (GL) 6-3, 6-1; 4. Kelsey Harness (A) d. Laura Arnold (GL) 7-6, 6-2
Doubles
1. Shelby Schulz/Aly Gorby (A) d. Brittany Spencer/Elizabeth Shawaryn (O) 6-1, 6-1; 2. Courtney Diebold/Katie Haist (A) d. Krystle Kandler/Emily Stadt (GL) 7-5, 6-1; 3. Carissa Hoyer/Rachel Cook (A) d. Charlotte Slezak/Jessica Shannon (GL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; 4. Kasey Gorby/Erica LaGuttuta (A) d. Molly Schiff/Codi Sharp (GL) 6-2, 6-2