Pella Christian Girls Tennis Blanks Chariton To Open Regional Team Tournament
The Class 1A Team Regional Tournament started off strong for the Pella Christian girls tennis team Friday, as they made quick work of Chariton in a 5-0 quarterfinal sweep. Needing just singles play to advance in the tournament, the Eagles dropped just four total games in the five matches scored. Reagan De Vries at #1 and Renae Van Wyk at #6 each recorded 6-0, 6-0 wins their matches, while Ava Breems won 6-0, 6-1 at #2 and Addie Van Arendonk won 6-1, 6-0 at #3. Lexi Branderhorst completed the sweep for the Eagles at #4, defeating her opponent 6-2, 6-0. The Pella Christian girls tennis team advances to take on Albia at Pella’s Caldwell Park in the regional semifinal on Tuesday at 9 am, with the winner moving on to the regional championship at 1 pm on Tuesday against Pella or Oskaloosa.
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Pella Christian Boys Soccer Ties Ranked Van Meter Squad, Girls Soccer Falls to the Bulldogs
Wrapping up the regular season with a doubleheader on Eagle Lane, the Pella Christian girls soccer team fell to Van Meter 4-3 in the opening game, before the boys played to a 1-1 tie against the Class 1A #6 Bulldogs on Senior Night.
In the girls game, Van Meter jumped on top early with a goal in the first minute of the contest, but the Eagles battled back to re-tie the game at 1-1 with a Lexi Terpstra goal in the 26th minute. Van Meter responded with goals in the 27th and 30th minutes to take a 3-1 lead, but Esther Ford pulled Pella Christian back within one with a goal off of a free kick from 28 yards out. The Van Meter 3-2 advantage carried into halftime and until the 45th minute, when Ford again scored on a free kick, this time from 26 yards out to tie the game at 3-3. Despite the Eagles efforts, the Bulldogs added the game’s final goal in the 63rd minute, dropping Pella Christian to 8-6 overall on the season. Head coach Matt Dowie said he was proud of how his squad played in the match and against the windy conditions, as well as how they fought back after going down early.
In the nightcap, the Pella Christian and #6 Van Meter boys played a scoreless first half before finding the scoreboard. The Eagles broke the original tie in the 46th minute, when Ian Vander Molen found Elias Keegan in the middle of the box, and Keegan’s header connected with the right foot of Theo Hugen for his 13th goal of the season. Pella Christian held that advantage for most of the second half, before the Bulldogs re-tied the game at 1-1 in the 68th minute, and that score held to move the Eagles record to 8-7-2 overall on the spring. Head coach Mike Vander Molen said his team played their best defensive game of the season, and picked up a well deserved draw against a good team.
The Pella Christian girls will begin Class 1A Region 7 play on Wednesday at Albia, while the boys are off until hosting the second round matchup of Class 1A Substate 7 against either West Branch or Albia on Tuesday, May 27th.