ELLSWORTH — The end of the season has arrived, and the Ellsworth girls tennis team is preparing for battle in the Middle Border Conference Tournament and beyond. Thursday marked a special day, though, as the Panthers honored their eight seniors in their final match at Summit Park.

The senior class is made up of Odalis Mendiola, Darien McGrath, Atlanta O’Neil, Payton Huppert, Alissa Davis, Brooke Olson, Bridget Dendinger and Mady Maxwell. With a team made up of 13 student-athletes, eight seniors is certainly not a bad way to lead the charge.

“It’s huge. Our first year they had five seniors, then there were three seniors, now there’s eight. “It’s just a lot of the underclassmen look up,” Olson said. “It’s definitely sad, but we’ve come a long way. A lot of us have done really good.”

This Ellsworth team has been a good one. They won 6-1 over Osceola on Thursday, but that is far from the only success they have had. The Panthers hold wins over Osceola (twice), Bloomer, Rice Lake, Barron, Unity/Luck (twice), Altoona, Ashland, Mondovi, Black River Falls, Amery (twice), Lakeland Union (twice), Rhinelander and Pacelli heading into the postseason. Olson said they are winning because of a combination of the years of experience and the cohesion of the roster.

“A lot of our team is working together,” Olson said. “Me and my partner [Alissa Davis], we’ve been doing great this year. We’ve been talking after every match. We’ve had like five team meals, so our whole team is just great.”

It is not just the seniors that have led to the wins. The younger student-athletes are stepping up on the court to secure points for the Panthers.

“The underclassmen are doing great, so I think they’re going to do really good in the years to come,” Olson said.

The Middle Border Conference Tournament is Sept. 29 in Eau Claire, followed by Sub-Sectionals in Amery on Oct. 5 and Sectionals back in Eau Claire on Oct. 8.