“The girls are putting it together!!” an emphatic Coach Marissa Welch started her email off with in response to questions about the last week for girls tennis.

Welch is the girl’s head coach and boy’s assistant coach. It’s clear she is happy with the progress her girls team is making this fall.

“We have focused, intentional practices and the girls work hard at them. We apply as best as we can in matches and then we get back to work at the next practice! I think that is the biggest switch the girls have flipped is having that competitive edge. Senior captain Jade Lindgren and junior Mikayla Schuster have really helped the team push in that direction. It truly is a team effort though! Beating Mahtomedi was great proof of the girls' hard work and competitive edge,” added Welch.

The girls have recently struggled against some of the very good teams in the section like Mahtomedi and Simley. What used to be a 07 thumping is now 43 wins or 34, competitive losses and that is a huge step for building a quality team.

The past week has seen the Raiders on the courts for three matches. In those three, they went 21.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 Tartan – 0, Hastings – 7,

Singles: No. 1 Claire Keller, Hastings def. Sarah Lambert, Tartan, 61 , 60 No. 2 Reese Keller, Hastings def. Simone Chounlamontry, Tartan, 60 , 62 No. 3 Brooklyn Keller, Hastings def. Katelyn Hackman, Tartan, 60 , 60 No. 4 Jade Lindgren, Hastings def. Alex Allen, Tartan, 60 , 60 Doubles: No. 1 Mikayla Schuster Autumn Winkler, Hastings def. Liliana Martinson Elliotte Robitaille, Tartan, 60 , 60 No. 2 Ruby Rotty Brooke Jelley , Hastings def. Breonna Methner Alaina Hedberg, Tartan, 62 , 60 No. 3 Ella Dohmen Megan McGrath, Hastings def. Ada Thomsen Nicole James, Tartan, 60 , 62

Thursday, Sept. 22 Mahtomedi – 3, Hastings – 4,

Singles: No. 1 – Mari Meger, Mahtomedi def. Claire Keller, Hastings, 6-2 , 6-3 No. 2 – Reese Keller, Hastings def. Kate Hoffman, Mahtomedi, 6-0 , 6-4 No. 3 – Brooklyn Keller, Hastings def. Mallory Langer, Mahtomedi, 6-0 , 6-0 No. 4 – Autumn Winkler, Hastings def. Alayna Bartylla, Mahtomedi, 6-3 , 6-3 Doubles: No. 1 – Campbell Albers Sonya Potthoff, Mahtomedi def. Mikayla Schuster – Ruby Rotty, Hastings, 7-5 , 6-1 No. 2 – Jade Lindgren Brooke Jelley , Hastings def. Megan Langer – Olivia Bengtson, Mahtomedi, 6-2 , 6-3 No. 3 – Kathryne Foley Katherine Smith , Mahtomedi def. Ella Dohmen – Megan McGrath, Hastings, 6-0 , 6-0 Monday, Sept. 26 Hastings – 3, Burnsville – 4, Singles: No. 1 – Claire Keller, Hastings def. Addie Bowlby, Burnsville, 6-0 , 6-2 No. 2 – Reese Keller, Hastings def. Shawna Bruha, Burnsville, 6-2 , 6-1 , — ; No. 3 – Sidney Handrahan, Burnsville def. Brooklyn Keller, Hastings, 3-6 , 6-4 , 61 ; No. 4 – Molly Halvorson, Burnsville def. Brooke Jelley , Hastings, 6-2 , 6-0 Doubles: No. 1 – Ashley King, Burnsville – Madisyn Krumholz, Burnsville def. Autumn Winkler – Mikayla Schuster, Hastings, 6-3 , 6-1 No. 2 – Ruby Rotty – Jade Lindgren, Hastings def. Avery Krumwiede, Burnsville – Allison Oxborough, Burnsville, 6-4 , 6-2 No. 3 – Madison Malecha, Burnsville – Lizzy Berger, Burnsville def. Amber Keller – Ella Dohmen, Hastings, 6-0 , 6-0

This week is the final week of conference matches for the Raiders before the playoffs start on Monday, but you will need to travel to Hill Murray to see them play Thursday evening at 4 p.m.