Photo by David Borer: Cambree Lunn returns a shot for St. Edmond on Friday at Webster City.

WEBSTER CITY — The St. Edmond girls tennis team took their first step toward another North Central Conference championship run here on Friday.

Behind a sweep of doubles, the Gaels topped Webster City, 6-3.

Last year, St. Edmond won both the NCC regular season and tournament titles for a second consecutive season. Seniors Lauren Gibb, Payton Bradley and Cambree Lunn have been around for all of that success, and the trio were involved in four wins vs. the Lynx.

Gibb posted an 8-2 triumph at the top singles spot over Allie Severe, then paired with Bradley to secure an 8-5 win over Olivia Gallentine and Morgan Hackbarth at No. 1 doubles.

Lunn and Ava Andrew won at No. 2 doubles over Allie Severe and Alivia Burns, 8-6. Gaels Ava Underberg and Chloe Palmer completed the sweep with an 8-0 shutout at No. 3 over Olivia Bergman and Gabbie Sebert.

“It was great to see the girls battle in some tough matches and secure the win,” SEHS head coach Shawn Neverman said. “They have big goals this season and know they need to play well each time out to achieve them.

“This was a good start to the year for us.”

Along with Gibb, Underberg and Abby Huss won in singles. Underberg topped Cyra Christensen, 8-2, and Huss downed Sebert, 8-5.

St. Edmond has now won 12 consecutive NCC matches dating back to 2022, and is 18-2 in duals over the past two-plus seasons.

For the Lynx, Gallentine, Burns and Hackbarth were singles winners, as Burns and Hackbarth clipped Lunn and Andrew, 8-6. Webster City was coming off a dual victory over South Hardin on Thursday.

“I told the girls afterward I was actually much happier with our performance in a loss to a solid and experienced St. Edmond team compared to our win over South Hardin,” WCHS head coach Mark Fisher said. “I thought we played more loose and relaxed, trusting our shots. We had our chances — even in singles — and I thought we did a lot of great things in doubles to give ourselves an (opportunity) at No. 1 and No. 3.

“You have to give a lot of credit to St. Edmond. They didn’t get rattled, especially in doubles as we were making a push.”

The Gaels host Storm Lake on Monday before heading to Nevada on Tuesday.

They close out next week at Aplington-Parkersburg on Friday.