Lill continued, “Our 1’s and 2’s took the courts first,” said Lill.  “Ellie Colbeck knew from years past that she was in for a dogfight at first singles tonight.  Ellie had beaten this opponent last year in a third set tie-break and this match did not disappoint.  Ellie found herself out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set, but Katryna Hansen of Moorhead would not go down easily.  Katryna battled her way back into the set, forcing a tie-break that she earned 7-5.  Sometimes after a player has a lead like Ellie did and then drops a set, players can have a way of falling out of a match.  Ellie did just the opposite tonight.  She turned it up a notch.  Big time.  Ellie played a near flawless second set and cruised 6-1.  As expected, the third and final set was a rollercoaster of back and forth tennis.  Ellie looked strong and well-conditioned for the 3-hour match.  With a 5-4 lead and the serve on her racket, Ellie found herself fighting off a break point to get the game back to deuce.  A nice forehand winner gave her the advantage and she sealed the match with an impressive ace out wide and beyond Katrynaś outstretched racket.  It was the perfect finish to a fantastic match for Ellie.” 

First doubles also found themselves in the midst of an amazing match.  “Ava Weber and Leila Nasri came to play today,” said Lill.  “Ava and Leila are so smart on the court.  They do a nice job of adapting to each match.  Tonight, Moorhead´s Azylen Lunak was really effective at the net and causing trouble for our girls.  Ava and Leila adapted to putting two players back when needed and adjusted from there accordingly.  Their lob game was right on and they did a nice job of handling pace that Moorhead was throwing at them.”  Moorhead ended up taking the match 7-6(6), 6-4. 

Hannah Prody and Ashtyn Lill continued to play consistent tennis and kept their 7-match win streak alive.  “Hannah really showed some power putting balls away tonight and the duo is looking good heading into postseason next week,” stated Coach Lill.  “Isabella Abrahams made some pretty quick work of her match at third singles tonight.  Bella continues to improve each time she steps on the court.  Tonight she zoned in on her opponents’ weaker side and just played more consistently, earning herself a 6-1, 6-3 victory.”  

With the match tied 3-3, Amber Anderson had the last match of the night going under the lights for the Otters at fourth singles.  Amber and her opponent split sets, forcing a third and final set to determine both their match and the team match score.  “Amber did a great job tonight of keeping depth on her groundstrokes and running her opponent around,” added Lill.  “She was mentally tough as these three sets had many breaks of serve and a lot of back-and-forth tennis as we are accustomed to seeing at fourth singles.  Elizabeth Glatt of Moorhead ended up taking the match 6-4 in the third, but this was really a nice match for Amber.”  

The Otters turn around and play again this Thursday in Moorhead for their last regular season CLC match before section 8AA post-season play begins next week.  

Singles:
1. Ellie Colbeck (FF) defeated Katryna Hansen (M) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4.
2. Nicole Hoogland (M) defeated Madison Anderson (FF) 6-1, 6-1.
3. Isabella Abrahams (FF) defeated Josie Palmer (M) 6-1, 6-3.
3. Elizabeth Glatt (M) defeated Amber Anderson (FF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles:
1. Azylen Lunak/Bailey Overbo (M) defeated Ava Weber/Leila Nasri (FF) 7-6(6), 6-4.
2. Hannah Prody/Ashtyn Lill (FF) defeated Anna Kiser/Kylie Torkelson (M) 6-2, 6-2.
3. Sophie Swenson/Katelyn Schwantz (M) defeated Paige Pearson/Mackenzie Krava (FF) 6-1, 6-0.