JOSLIN GOURLEY gets ready to return a shot for the Webster City girls tennis team during a home meet against Clear Lake. (DFJ photo by David Borer)

Just like life itself, sports can be a heck of a teacher. There are pendulum swings, from exhilaration to deflation — with the goal being to maximize the heights and minimize the dips.

The Webster City girls’ tennis team swung both ways last Thursday and Friday, routing Clear Lake by way of a 9-0 sweep last Thursday at the Lynx Courts in Webster City before enduring a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Dike-New Hartford last Friday in Dike.

The up-and-down weekend shifted the Lynx back to the .500 mark, at 3-3 overall.

According to Mark Fisher, WCHS girls’ tennis coach, the victory against the Lions saw a lot of good things while the setback against the Wolverines was “something this team needed.”

“I thought we were pretty dominant from start to finish,” Fisher said of the win over Clear Lake. “I saw a lot of good things from our girls, and a lot of things we had been working on. While I did believe that we had a few lapses here and there, for the most part we were able to keep working hard and keep trying to improve in areas.”

“One of our goals, after the past few years’ success, was to beef up our non-conference schedule a little bit,” Fisher continued, touching on the meet against D-NH. “This was one of those examples. Looking at the team score, or even the match scores doesn’t tell the story. All of the matches were tough with lots of deuce games. Our girls battled and improved as the day went on. I have to give a lot of credit to D-NH though, they have a very talented, athletic, experienced group over there.”

The Lynx returned home with the intent of jumping back into the win column, as they thosed Boone on Monday at the Lynx Courts. Results from the Webster City girls’ latest home meet will be reported in an upcoming edition of the Daily Freeman-Journal.

Senior Joslin Gourley was the top representative for the Lynx against Clear Lake, rattling off a decisive 10-1 win over Macey Brandt. Teammate Trinity Griffith continued to impress, dispatching Emma Allie with a 10-1 triumph.

Freshman Allie Severe scored a 10-3 win, followed by sophomore Cyra Christensen’s 10-5 victory over Lilly Rodrigeuz. Junior Kinzey Koestner secured a 10-1 win over Makayla Martin, and senior Izzy Feldhaus dominated Ashley Roberts in a 10-0 decision.

In doubles, the purple and gold were too much for opponents, as Griffith and Gourley hauled in a 10-3 win. Koestner and Feldhaus teamed up for a 10-1 victory, before Severe and junior Addie Tesdahl scored a 10-2 win over Martin and Kara Ouverson.

Against Dike-New Hartford, Gourley came up short in a 8-4 match against Madelyn Norton. Griffith battled hard against Misty Harrell, but fell in a 9-8 (8-6) heartbreaker.

Severe took an 8-1 setback, as did Tesdahl. Christensen was empty handed in an 8-0 contest against Ellie Knok, while Koestner fell in a 8-2 match against Izzy Norton.

In doubles, the team of Griffith and Gourley fell in an 8-3 contest against Madelyn Norton and Harrell, while Koestner and Christensen couldn’t get much going in a 8-0 setback against Izzy Norton and Aida Tott.

Severe and Tesdahl also ran into trouble, before falling in a 8-1 decision against Anna Frahm and Knok.