DEXTER -- Sikeston gave Dexter all it wanted in a tennis marathon Wednesday, dropping two close doubles matches, while playing several singles matches tight in a 6-3 loss.
The Lady Bulldogs started the first match at 3:55 p.m. The final set finished up at 8:35.
"We were in the match all the way," said Sikeston coach Suzanne Hart. "The girls played their hearts out. With a couple of points either way, it could've ended up 5-4 in our favor. We just came up a little short this time."
In varsity singles, Dexter's Amy Rose defeated Elizabeth Killion 8-0, and Dexter's Rhiannon Wunderlich took down Lindsay Leible, 8-2.
"A couple of the singles matches sound lopsided, but they were much better than the score indicates," said Hart. "The matches went on forever."
Dexter's Elsie Young defeated Heather Hester 8-3, then Sikeston rebounded with two straight wins in the No. 4 and 5 slots. Valerie Haman defeated Dexter's Katie Howard 8-5, then Erin Shelton nipped Dexter's Bethany Long 9-8 with a 7-3 tiebreaker.
In the No. 6 spot, Dexter's Amanda Ward beat Kellee Manley 8-3.
In varsity doubles, Killion and Leible edged Young and Wunderlich 9-8 with a 7-3 tiebreaker. Hester and Shelton were defeated 9-8 with a 7-3 tiebreaker by Howard and Long. Haman and Manley lost to Rose and Ward 8-6.
Dexter improved to 2-0 while Sikeston falls to 1-1.
"I was very proud of the way the team performed," said Hart. "I'm looking forward to the rest of our matches."
Sikeston will travel to Caruthersville today at 4 p.m. The Lady Bulldogs won the junior varsity match, 10-4. Sikeston winners were Rachael Colwick, Mataline Bucher, Charlie Ritchie, Erica Carr, Chelsie Gilliland, Jamie Davidson, Jeri Nichols and Leslie Powell.