Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Cora Medina returns a shot during a singles No. 4 Big South Conference girls tennis match against Luverne on Thursday in Marshall. Medina earned a straight-sets win over Emmery Huiskes as the Tigers defeated the Cardinals 5-2.

MARSHALL — A sweep across the singles matches helped the Marshall girls tennis team take down Luverne 5-2 in a Big South Conference match on Thursday night. The victory was Marshall’s second of the week.

“Just all of us girls uplifting each other and pushing each other to try our best and hardest is really what makes our team harder,” Marshall singles player Cora Medina said of the team’s success.

“It’s just all the practice that we put in as a team,” Kyra Bailey added. “We really work together to push each other every single day, making sure that everyone is encouraged, feeling their best, and really focusing on ‘We’ as a team.”

Building confidence is among the most important things for the team to accomplish at this point in the season, Marshall head coach Alex Cleppe said, so no win is taken for granted with the group.

Cora Medina had the quickest win of the day for Marshall, taking down Emmery Huiskes 6-2, 6-2 in singles No. 4. Medina cited sideline support from her team and keeping the ball in front of her as key factors in her singles win.

Brooklyn Mauch and Kyra Bailey each also swept their singles matches, each by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Mauch picked up her win over Addyson Mann in singles No. 1 while Bailey, a freshman, earned hers against Sofia Remme in singles No. 3. When asked about her win, Bailey emphasized the importance of active feet, which she said has been a focus point in practice lately.

Kathryn Coudron gave Marshall its lone three-set win of the day. Facing off against Hanna Kempema in singles No. 2, Coudron picked up the first set 6-2 before dropping the second 7-5. Yet, Coudron pulled out the tiebreaker victory 10-6.

Peyton and Eme DeMuth won the first set of their doubles No. 1 match 6-3 against Makayla Oechsle and Bergen Ask, and won the match via medical default.

Emry Weller and Jazilyn Steinberg-Jones put together a strong fight against Elizabeth Mulder and Jessika Tunnissen in doubles No. 1, but fell short in three sets. After dropping the first set 7-5, the Tiger duo claimed the second 6-3 but lost the tiebreaker 10-8.

Emry Jans and Julia Pafko fell 6-3, 7-5 to Gracyn Woodley and Lilly Lanoue in doubles No. 3.

Continuing to minimize unforced errors is a point of emphasis for the group, Cleppe said.

“It’s a mental game, and just keeping the right headspace is really important,” Bailey said. “If you let your thoughts go downhill, then your play kind of goes downhill from there.”

“Just staying calm in tight situations, especially when the score is close, is just really good for us to keep in mind,” Medina added.

Marshall improves to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in Big South Conference play with the win. The Tigers will go on the road today, traveling to Montgomery to take on Tri-City United for their fourth match in five days. The match is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.

Now with just two matches left in the regular season, the section team and individual tournaments loom in the near future. Staying consistent and playing within themselves will be key points for the team to maximize its potential as it inches closer to the postseason.

“We just need to be there for each other and really push each other in practice,” Bailey said, with Medina adding that the team is always looking to uplift each other and hold each other accountable for coming ready to grow as athletes in practice.