Senior Elizabeth Houge took the court against the #4 seed Brianna Holm of Alexandria. Elizabeth knew this was a tall task today.  Brianna did as she was expected to do as a seeded player and took the match 6-0, 6-0 over Houge. “Elizabeth put up a good fight today against a very complete player in Holm,” stated Fergus Falls Head Coach Jamie Lill.   “Elizabeth has been such a valuable asset to our program over the years. Her heart and drive will be missed next season for sure.” 

Elissa Lee and Leila Nasri took the court against an unseeded team in Hannah Nelson and Aftyn Schmidt of Bemidji. This duo was dangerous as a very capable doubles team without a seed. Although Elissa and Leila played some great tennis in waves today, they were unable to match the consistency of Bemidji.  “Tennis can be such a game of ebbs and flows,” stated Coach Lill.  “When your opponents are on, you need to buckle down and fight your way back in and when you’re the ones cruising, you need to ride the wave as long as you can.  Today Bemidji was just too much for these girls. It was another emotional match with Elissa being a senior, but she’s had a great career in Otter tennis and has anchored a spot in the doubles lineup for a couple years.  Her positive attitude will be missed next season.”

Carlie Meis and Olivia Kaliher represented the Otters in the doubles tournament as well. Their first round opponents were Mackayla Geisel and Julia Vetsch of Little Falls.  Carlie and Olivia came out ready to play today and cruised through the first set 6-1. The duo from Little Falls proved to put up quite a fight in the second set and forced more errors from the Otters, but the girls hung tough and took the match in straights winning 6-1, 7-5.   The next round the Otters faced the #2 seeded team from Bemidji.  Carlie and Olivia played some great tennis in the first set and stayed on serve through 6 games.  The experience and consistency of Bemidji showed through in the end, with Bemidji taking the match 6-3, 6-0.  “Both Carlie and Olivia just joined our program last season,” noted Lill. “In 14 months of tennis, they earned the #2 and #3 spots on our ladder and a crucial role in our top doubles team. These girls showed that hard work pays off. They showed up, bought in, and made an immediate impact. This doubles duo will definitely leave a hole in our lineup next season as well as a palpable leadership role amongst the team.”

Ellie Colbeck was the Otters top singles entry in the tournament with the 3rd seed overall. Ellie’s work this year at the top of the lineup earned her the 3rd seed in a highly contested singles tournament.  Ellie drew Nicole Hoogland of Moorhead in the first round. Nicole played a great match against Ellie, getting everything back and fighting all the way through. Ellie took the match 6-2, 6-4.  “This was a good first match to get through against a player that gets a lot of balls back,” mentioned Lill.  “Ellie did what she needed to win the first round, but agreed that she needs to be more aggressive in the next rounds to find continued success in the tournament.”  The second round, Ellie played Kate Chaussee of Brainerd. Chaussee boasted a very impressive second singles record this year only losing one match.  Ellie started a bit tentative again, and found herself in an early 1-4 hole. However, Ellie dug in. She battled her way back to a first set tie break that she won 7-3 and continued to force her game on Chaussee in a very convincing second set that she took 6-1. 

“Ellie is among the elite in section 8AA,” added Coach Lill. “Saturday she will battle it out with the other girls in the top 4 for the best seed she can get heading into the section tournament next weekend in St. Cloud.”