Pugh, Reedy nab wins in Eagle tennis loss

By JEN SEAVEY

Journal Sports Editor

NEW ULM -- Just because spectators didn't see New Ulm tennis' Jenny Pugh smashing the ball a lot in her first home meet doesn't mean she didn't -- or won't -- dominate matches.

Pugh beat Redwood Falls' Sam Boushek in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-0, as Redwood Falls beat the Eagles 5-2 Thursday.

"What I usually do, is during the first set, I analyze my opponent, and by the second set I have her pegged," she said. "And either it works or it doesn't work."

Apparently, it worked against Boushek. The first set seemed to stretch on, but once Pugh had her strategy, the second set flew by. But it still wasn't what Pugh wanted.

Because of a nagging shoulder injury, the senior is having to adapt to a whole different style of play.

"I can't do power shots like I used to," Pugh said. "It's softer, more finesse shots I have to go to -- it's kind of tough to adjust to.

"I used to decide where I wanted to hit a shot, then wait for my opportunity and then just smash it," Pugh said. "And I liked it. It's more of a placement game now."

The rotator cuff problem has caused Pugh to have to relearn a different style of game her senior year, and she feels like she isn't playing up the the level she would like -- something that is not evidenced in the score.

New Ulm's other point came from junior Liz Reedy at No. 2 singles, who came back from a 6-0 loss in the first set to win the second and third 6-2 and 6-1 over Redwood Falls' Ana Johnson.

"After it was about 3-0 [in the first set], I kind of gave up," Reedy said. "Then I started coming back in the next set. I knew I was starting over, basically."

In the first set, Reedy said she wasn't hitting like she normally does, and in the second set, she adjusted, hitting harder and moving her feet more.

During one point in the fourth game of the second set, Reedy hit the ball and came to the net, returned a lob that was intended to fall in over her head, and placed it over Johnson's head instead, hitting four inches inside the baseline for a point.

"That was a really long point," Reedy said. "Usually, when I come up to the net, I can place 'em better than back, so I try to get up there a lot."

There was also a series in which Reedy had her opponent scrambling from sideline to sideline in three consecutive hits, then finished it off with a smash.

On the doubles side, New Ulm mustered only four game points. At No. 1 doubles, Redwood Falls seniors Kristina Schneider and Lily Madsen beat Eagles April Lund and Jayme Curry 6-1 and 6-1.

"Our shots were actually going in today," Madsen said. "Yesterday it was basically just second serves."

The Cardinals have come off of a tough early-season stretch, beating MACCRAY and St. Cloud, then lost to Litchfield and Hutchinson, which are all a class above Redwood Falls. But they felt better against the Eagles.

"I think they just had a lot of mistakes," Schneider said. "It must've been a bad day for them."

"It was one of those days when their hits were going out and ours were going in -- yesterday, it was just the opposite [for us]."

Redwood Valley hosts River Valley and Sibley East at 9 a.m. Monday, and New Ulm plays at the Austin Quad at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Jen Seavey can be reached at jseavey@nujournal.com.