Norwalk wins marathon over Ashland

NORWALK — The Norwalk girls tennis team used two tiebreaker wins to defeat Division I Ashland in a 4-1 non-conference win on Wednesday at the Norwalk Middle School courts. At third singles, sophomore Leksi Jurczek came back from a 7-5 loss in the first set to win 6-4, 6-3 over Ashland's Melody Rickett. The second doubles team of senior Chloe Hazelwood and junior Riley Helton overcame a 3-0 deficit to win the first set, 7-6, followed by an 8-6 win in the tiebreaker. The pair lost a 5-1 lead in the second set, and trailed 5-1 in the tiebreaker before rallying to win, 11-9. Jurczek's match lasted over three hours, while second doubles was two hours and 28 minutes. "We played another great match with Ashland tonight," Norwalk head coach Harry Love said after his team improved to 9-4 overall. "Anytime we have to turn the lights on, that means good tennis is being played. "Riley and Chloe really battled back in two long tie-break sets," he added. "Leksi's level stayed high the whole time and she was able to outlast her opponent. The whole team played amazing, and it's been a real pleasure to see how much they have all improved since the start of the season." At first singles, junior Lydia Trost beat Katherine Birkes (6-4, 5-2), while junior Addy Rospert topped Claire Sharick (6-4, 6-0) at second singles. The first doubles team of juniors Alyssa Gruhlke and Aubrey Kluding fell to Nora White and Claire Swaisgood (6-3, 6-3). In junior varsity matches, Norwalk went 8-2. Winners for the Truckers included Roxy Brummit and Abby Upton (6-1); Brooklyn Younce and Vanessa Vazquez (6-4); Grace Knight and Scarlet Schneider (6-2); Libby Lark and Emmie Leber (6-0); Nellie Ferguson and Lily Ware (6-1); Natalie Wiegel and Ella Borgetson (6-1); Lily McDuffie and Natalie Morales (6-0); and Carsyn Swick and Genevieve Riley (6-2). Also playing for Norwalk was Nora Whaley and Valery Samano (5-6) and Miley Gatschet and Keelie Cammarn (3-6). The Truckers host Sandusky on Thursday in an SBC Lake match. They lead Columbian by one match with three remaining.