WCA Knights girls tennis team improves to 4-1 in dual matches with a win at Perham on Tuesday night

The West Central Area Knights girls tennis team came out on top of the Perham Yellowjackets on the road last night by a 5-2 score in the varsity match. They also swept all exhibition matches to make for a nice trip back home.

“This was a very good win in a very tightly contested match,” commented WCA head coach Doug Rakoczy. “Three of our wins came in 3-set matches, and we saved our best tennis for when it mattered the most. I was really proud of how all the girls were able to hang in there and really compete when the matches got tight. Perham is a good team and the overall match really could have gone either way. ”

The Knights (4-1, 1-0 Prairie) get back into Prairie Conference action on Thursday when they travel to Parkers Prairie for a 4:30pm dual meet.

Left out of this week's Tribune sports section by mistake - WCA's girls tennis team is a new member of the Prairie Conference

Left out of this week's sports section by mistake - the West Central Area Knights girls tennis team is a new member of the Prairie Conference, joining another new member to the league, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, and former members Osakis, Parkers Prairie, and New York Mills.

The Knights (2-0) host the latter (NYM) this Friday at 10:00am.

I'm in the process of gathering WCA fall sports previews, from the coaches and our sports editor, Kris Beuckens, as well as additional information about Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross football and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross volleyball. In this week's August 26 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune, I had a light story talking about CAHN and WHN football/volleyball, with additional information on those teams coming next week from their coaching staffs.

I hate to say it (because it went by so fast) but the summer is basically over.

Big news for West Central Area schools - the Knights' athletic program is accepted into the Prairie Conference beginning in 2011

The West Central Area Knights' athletic program was recently accepted into the Prairie Conference beginning in the fall of 2011.

The following sports will switch to the Prairie from the Heart O' Lakes Conference: football, volleyball, girls tennis, boys/girls basketball, baseball, fastpitch softball, and track and field.

Beginning in the fall of 2011, the closest trip for the Knights to play a conference game is Osakis, approximately 37 miles from the high school in Barrett. Currently, the nearest conference competitor is Breckenridge, which is 48 miles from Barrett.

The furthest drive for WCA in the Prairie Conference will be Royalton, which is about 85 miles from Barrett.

Other Prairie Conference teams, including distance from Barrett:
1 - Browerville is about a one-hour drive from Barrett, 60 miles.
2 - Upsala (70 miles)
3 - Swanville (66 miles)
4 - St.John's Prep in Collegeville (82 miles)
5 - Eagle Valley (high school in Eagle Bend, 56 miles)

I'll explain more over the weekend.