Marcail Allerdings could not have asked for a better outcome in her first appearance as a varsity member of the Dickinson High tennis team on Tuesday.
She started by teaming with Katie Riely for a doubles win - 6-4, 6-2 - against Bismarck Legacy's Brianna Metzger and Hannah Felt, and then she turned in a singles victory 6-3, 6-1 against Karissa Albaugh.
"I was a little bit nervous, definitely, for my first doubles match," said Allerdings, a junior, "but I'd say we did pretty well."
The Sabers took the team victory for the day by a 6-3 score at Dickinson High School, but Allerdings' success with Riely was a welcomed bright spot for the Midgets.
"We were very, very impressed that they won. They really are playing good together," Dickinson head coach Lia Bradley said. "They're blending really well together. Marcail is a very consistent baseline player, so she goes back and Katie does really well at the net. There are a lot of things to be happy about."
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Maybe chief among them is the quick success that Dickinson's No. 1 doubles team has found.
"We played really well together," Allerdings said. "I felt really comfortable playing with her. We had a lot of communication, and we were cheering each other on."
Dickinson's only other point earned came via a singles victory from eighth-grader Emma Dazell, who defeated Legacy sophomore Alexi Ness 6-1, 6-4.
"I saw a lot of her match, and she was very consistent," Bradley said. "She really applied everything that she's learning. For being an eighth-grader, she played very smart."
Dickinson's No. 2 doubles pairing of sophomores Halie Karlen and Alexa Cofer lost 6-4, 6-4 to Legacy's Abby McPherson and Camaryn Beasley. The No. 3 duo of junior Cora Knipp and Dazell lost 6-2, 6-4 to Albaugh and Ness.
Riely lost her singles matchup to McPherson 6-3, 6-1, and Karlen lost to Metzger in straight sets. She lost in a tiebreaker in the first set before dropping the second 6-4.
"We had three matches that could have gone either way," Bradley said. "We lost 6-3, but there were some matches that were close - just little things here and there. They really competed well. I'm really proud of the girls."
The Midgets return to action at 3 p.m. Thursday against Williston at the DHS tennis courts.
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Bismarck Legacy 6, Dickinson High 3
Singles: 1, Abby McPherson, BL, def. Katie Riely, 6-3, 6-1. 2, Brianna Metzger, BL, def. Halie Karlen 7-6, 6-4. 3, Hannah Felt, BL, def. Cora Knipp, 6-4, 6-1. 4, Marcail Allerdings, DHS, def. Karissa Albaugh, 6-3, 6-1. 5, Sierra Knoll, BL, def. Alexa Cofer, 6-4, 6-3. 6, Emma Dazell, DHS, def. Alexi Ness, 6-1, 6-4.
Doubles: 1, Riely/Allerdings, DHS, def. Metzger/Felt, 6-4, 6-4. 2, McPherson/Camaryn Beasley, BL, def. Karlen/Cofer, 6-4, 6-4. 3, Albaugh/Ness, BL, def. Knipp/Dazell, 6-2, 6-4.
