While the weather was super for tennis, the result of the match was not.

The Blue Earth Area Buccaneers won only one match on Thursday on their home courts, falling 6-1 to a very tough St. James Saints squad.

The South Central Conference loss evened the Bucs conference record at 1-1, and dropped their overall season record to 6-3.

BEA’s only victory came at No. 4 singles where sophomore Kaitlyn Olsen defeated Saint’s freshman Aubrey Eckstrom 6-4, 6-2.

Two of the doubles contests were close and exciting.

At No. 3 doubles, Buccaneers Paige Darrington and Autumn Drake waged a three-set battle against the Saints Morgan Rankin and Cassidy Chapek.

BEA’s freshman/senior duo lost the first set to the two St. James seniors in a 7-6 (7-2) marathon.

The Buc pair bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second set, but went on to lose 6-3 in the deciding third set.

Buc seniors Abby Nimz and Aeli Olson lost a close two-set match at No. 3 doubles to a pair of Saints seniors, Michaela Nelson and Megan Lahti. St. James came out with a 6-2, 7-5 win.

Freshmen Karli Olsen and Natali Fellows lost 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles to Saints senior Michaela Nordby and junior Acacia Foss.

At No. 1 singles, Buc sophomore Karleigh Wolff lost 6-1, 6-0 to senior Aryn Eckstrom.

Junior Lindsey Prokop faced another junior, Lorena Hernandez, and fell 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles slot.

Anikka Wilhelmi, a freshman, lost to sophomore Julia Boeve by scores of 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.

BEA’s schedule continues to be busy this week.

After a match this past Saturday at Mankato West, the Bucs host Le Center on Monday, travel to New Ulm on Tuesday, return home to play Fairmont on Thursday, then the team heads to Maple River on Saturday.

USC 4, BEA 3

Buccaneer head girls tennis coach Terry Barnes wasn’t too happy at the start of the Blue Earth Area versus United South Central matchup in Wells last Tuesday evening.

His Buccaneer squad won only one of the seven first sets.

“We had better get back into these matches in the second sets,” he said. “This match with USC is going to wind up being very close.”

Barnes was right.

The USC Rebels handed the Bucs only their second loss of the season, downing BEA 4-3.BEA got a win from only one of their four singles players Kaitlyn Olsen at No. 4 singles.

Like all four of the Buc singles players, Olsen lost her first set. But, the sophomore came back to win the next two sets and defeat Rebel senior Ali Wood, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

USC’s Claire Christian defeated BEA’s Karleigh Wolff 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles.

The match up at No. 2 singles went three sets. USC’s Linsey Thisius won the first set 6-4, while BEA’s Lindsey Prokop won the second by the same 6-4 score. Thisius prevailed in the third set, 6-3.

USC’s Julia Stenzel defeated BEA’s Anikka Wilhelmi 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.

The Bucs grabbed two of three doubles teams matches.

BEA’s Abby Nimz and Aeli Olson won over USC’s duo of Joyce Rubio and Deanna Shellen at No. 2 doubles, 6-4, 6-2.

At No. 3 doubles, Paige Darrington and Autumn Drake of BEA prevailed in a three set match against Veronica Schindler and Leah Meyer, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

USC’s Monica Bye and Kia Legred were the winners in the No. 1 doubles matchup against BEA’s Karli Olsen and Natali Fellows, 6-1, 6-4.

The match was played under very windy, hot (95 degrees) conditions.

The loss put BEA’s record at 6-2 overall and they remain 1-0 in the South Central Conference.

BEA 6, Albert Lea 1

The Buccaneer girls tennis team notched another decisive victory on last Monday when they downed Albert Lea 6-1 on the Tigers home court.

Blue Earth Area’s only loss came at the No. 1 singles spot where sophomore Karleigh Wolff lost a long, hard-fought three set battle to Albert Lea’s Megan Gilbertson, a senior.

Wolff lost the first set 6-4, but bounced right back and won the second set by the same identical 6-4 score.

That set up a decisive third set that ended up being a 10-5 score.

All the other matches were not very close.

At No. 2 singles, junior Lindsey Prokop won 6-4, 6-0 over senior Susie Marin. Freshman Anikka Wilhelmi defeated senior Lynzee Underdahl 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

Kaitlyn Olsen, a sophomore, blanked her senior opponent, Kristin Sandager, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles.

Buc ninth-graders Natali Fellows and Karli Olsen bested juniors Bailey Blickenderfer and Katlyn Larson 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.

Seniors Abby Nimz and Aeli Olson defeated juniors Laura Piper and Miriam Villagomez 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 2 doubles spot.

At No. 3 doubles, Paige Darrington, freshman, and Autumn Drake, senior, combined to shut out juniors Elizabeth Ogunkanbi and Claire Ellis 6-0, 6-0.

The victory upped BEA’s overall season record to 6-1.