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KNOXVILLE — Morgan Frehse won the singles bracket and Sloan Brodersen and Kaetlin McPartlin rebounded from an early loss to finish fifth in doubles as the Newton girls tennis team opened the 2025 fall season with a runner-up finish at the Knoxville Girls Invitational on Tuesday.
The Cardinals’ originally scheduled season opener against Des Moines East was postponed on Monday due to the Lady Scarlets not having enough players.
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Class 1A No. 2 Pella won the tournament on Tuesday with 119 points. Newton scored 64 points in second, while Knoxville (58), Clarke (25), Ballard (23), Saydel (16) and Creston (10) completed the seven-team field.
Frehse’s first-place day included a 4-0 record. She won the singles bracket as the No. 4 seed.
Frehse opened with a 4-1, 4-0 win over Ballard’s Siena Roush, downed Creston’s Brooke Huck 4-0, 4-0 in the next round and then defeated Pella’s Ellie Smock 4-0, 0-4, 1-0 (7-3) in the semifinals.
Knoxville’s Addy Dunkin was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, but Frehse swept her 4-2, 4-2 to win the title.
Brooklyn Sterling finished sixth in the singles bracket. She was 3-2 as the No. 14 seed.
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Sterling opened the tournament with a 4-3 (5-1), 4-0 win over Creston’s Kennedy Strider but then lost 4-3 (5-1), 3-4 (5-3) and 1-0 (7-2) to Dunkin.
Sterling defeated No. 6 seed Kaitlyn Glenn of Clarke 6-3 and downed Ballard’s Anja Tjemagel 6-2 before losing 6-2 to Saydel’s Lizzy Nicholson in the fifth-place match. Nicholson was the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Brodersen and McPartlin, the No. 13 seed, placed fifth in doubles after going 4-1 for the day.
The duo opened with a 4-1, 4-1 win over Ballard’s Reagan Remsburg and Josie Oldenkamp, who were seeded 12th.
Brodersen and McPartlin lost to No. 3 seed Bridgette Liston and Jordyn Counts of Knoxville 4-0, 4-2 in the second round.
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They ended their day with a 6-0 win over No. 10 seed Izzy Smith and Sadie Albritton of Saydel, a 6-1 win over No. 6 seed Brylee Woolsey and Ayla Williams of Knoxville and a 6-3 triumph over No. 7 seed Addy Agena and Zoe Wilson of Ballard.
Newton’s duo of Ava Williams and Camryn Andrew, who were seeded ninth, lost 4-0, 4-1 to No. 8 seed Marlee Stalker and Shaylee Coen of Creston.
Ava Williams and Andrew also fell 6-2 to Smith and Albritton of Saydel.