There is a lot to like about the Port Huron Northern tennis team.
The Huskies have a deep roster that is loaded with talent, and several players have overpowering serves. Romeo High School found that out the hard way in its 8-0 loss to Port Huron Northern Monday at Sanborn Park.
“All of their girls have good serves,” Romeo coach Matthew Burr said. “They are dominant in the serve game and we can’t make up for that. The other thing is, they make less mistakes. Those two things are the difference.”
The Huskies displayed many other qualities along the way. That has made them a Top 10 state ranked team. Northern’s top two singles players, Isabella Murray and Sydney Sepsey each had impressive performances.
Sepsey was dominant in her No. 2 singles match, winning 6-0, 6-0.
“We’ve gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season,” Sepsey said. “At the beginning we had new players. Now we have come together and become a good team.
“We practice a little harder as the season winds down and really focus on our strokes and how we can get better.”
Murray meanwhile continues to impress as a freshman No. 1 singles player. She made short work of her match, winning 6-0, 6-1.
“My team is palying really well and I played decent,” Murray said. “We just have to continue working hard every day and keep bonding and having fun. It always makes it a lot more fun to win. That’s always nice.”
Andrea Hartman won her No. 3 singles match in straight sets and Sophia Ahmed won her No. 4 singles match 6-1, 6-0. In doubles, Northern’s No. 1 team of Margaret Smith and Marissa Hartman won 6-1, 6-0. The No. 2 doubles team of Hannah Ash and Isabella Leon-Flann won 6-2, 6-0. Northern’s No. 3 doubles team of Delaney Ward and Murphy Vandervest won 6-2, 6-1 and the No. 4 doubles team of Annika Tekumulla and Anusha Tekumulla won 6-0, 6-1.
Northern will head back to practice to continue preparation for the MAC Red Division tournament on May 9 and the regional on May 19 at Eisenhower. Part of that focus will be in continuing to develop the overpowering serves that blew Romeo away.
“The serve is the most important part of the game,” Port Huron Northern coach Gordie Farnsworth said. “It makes sense to have that as a strong point in your game. We spend a lot of time serving and hitting serve returns as well. Many of the girls have worked for years with personal instructors. We have to give them a lot of credit to their coaching over the years.
“But the fact that they come out excited to play has helped us. We have made out all right. They are playing to the best of their ability. They have showed improvement from week to week. That is all you can ask for.”
Contact Joseph Hayes at (810) 989-6268 or at jahayes@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Joseph_Hayes11.