October 19, 2019
By Scott Williams and Brian Kalish
MADISON – Wausau West tennis standout Natasha Bailey will wrap up her junior season playing for fifth place at the Division 1 state tournament Saturday.
Bailey, who reached the state quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Jordan Schifano in straight sets Friday, rebounded in impressive fashion in the consolation bracket.
The eighth-seeded Bailey put her power game on full display Saturday morning and cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over the fourth-seeded Lauren Landstrom of New Berlin Eisenhower.
Next up for Bailey (32-4) will be a matchup with No. 6 seed Autumn Bruno of Whitnall, who knocked off seventh-seeded Elizabeth Sobieski of Muskego, 6-0, 6-1, to play in the consolation round.
No time has been determined for the start of the fifth-place match Saturday.
Division 2
Becky Larrain of Newman Catholic put herself in a similar position as Bailey with a chance to compete for fifth place after a loss in the state quarterfinals Friday.
Instead, the Cardinals sophomore watched her season come to a disappointing end with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 loss to Mallory Moen of Saint Mary’s Catholic early Saturday morning.
Larrain was attempting to become the third member of her family to bring home a state championship, joining Grace (2013) and Mia (2018). She entered state as the No. 6 seed.
The top singles player for Newman Catholic concluded her season with a 25-9 record.
