For Greg LaDouceur, the compliment directed at Mimi Yunker and Cindy Lim was big.
“They’re as solid as any top-two combination I’ve had,’’ LaDouceur, the veteran Grand Forks Red River High School girls tennis coach, said.
“And when you look at the players who have gone through this program, that’s saying a lot.’’
Yunker and Lim remained unbeaten this season Friday as the Roughriders swept Grand Forks Central 9-0.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yunker, a senior, improved to 4-0 at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Central’s Maddie Comeau. Lim, a junior at No. 2 singles, is 4-0 at No. 2 singles beating Katie Sween 6-0, 6-0. It was the fourth straight 6-0, 6-0 singles win for Lim; it was the first time Yunker had lost a singles game this season.
The Riders improved to 4-0 with the win, extending their dual winning streak to 167. They’re also 12-time defending state dual champions, so LaDouceur’s praise was high.
“They’ve got all the strokes,’’ LaDouceur said. “They push each other every day in practice. Cindy is more power; Mimi is more of a mix-it-up player. But they both have real good all-around games.’’
But to be put on a level with the standouts during the current winning streak? “It’s an honor,’’ Lim said. “There have been some really good players here.’’
Red River showed its quality depth against Central. The Roughriders used 12 different players and still wound up sweeping every match. The closest was at No. 3 singles, where Michaela Meland scored a 6-4, 6-3 win against Central’s Brynn Regimbal.
“I wanted to give some of our JV players some varsity experience,’’ LaDouceur said. “And we have a lot of matches coming up in the next week. It’s conserving the girls’ arms and shoulders.
“We used to have (a 12-player lineup) a lot, but I haven’t done it for several years. I think it hurt some girls for the region seedings because we had girls who didn’t get a lot of wins because they played either singles or doubles, not both.’’
Other wins by Red River were from Maddie Johnson, Brooke Kennelly and Cassidy Johnson in singles and the Maddie Anderson-Alexis Caoili, Ellen Larsen-Paige Relling and Lexi Antonenko-Casey DeBeltz doubles teams.
ADVERTISEMENT
Central remained winless in a building season. The Knights have four regulars back from a year ago. Otherwise, every player in its lineup was a tennis beginner.
“We knew (dual) wins would be tough to come by,’’ Central coach Max Weisser said of the inexperienced team. “We have had some close matches. Maddie and Katie, until today, have been in every match, in singles and doubles. They’ve both had a good season.
“Otherwise, it’s been a learning process.’’
