First, the singles players took the court.  Madison Anderson's first round draw was unseeded Aleah Oshie of East Grand Forks.  “Aside from a little hiccup in the middle of the first set, Madison cruised pretty easily,” commented Fergus Falls Head Coach Jamie Lill.  “She played consistent tennis and went for shots at the right time.”  Next up, Madison drew the #2 seed Katryna Hanson of Moorhead.  “Katryna has been playing lights out tennis this fall and continued to do more of the same against Madison today, dropping only one game,” said Lill. 

Isabella Abrahams also drew an unseeded opponent the first round in Jane Gudmundson of Perham.  “Bella was absolutely on fire to start out this match, cruising through the first set 6-0 before Jane really got her bearings,” noted Lill.  “The second set was much closer, with a nail-biter of a last game that Bella pulled off to earn the match 6-0, 7-5.  Bella was doing a fantastic job of being the aggressor and taking charge on the court.  When she is able to dictate play, she shows a lot of depth on her groundies and just demonstrates her all-court game.”  Bella drew a tough Avery Skaar of Thief River Falls in her second match.  “Avery had upset the #3 seed and was playing super consistent tennis,” reported Coach Lill.  “She had spin on most of her shots that we just typically don't see.  Bella battled hard, but fell in straight sets in this second round match-up.” 

The toughest draw of the day went to the Otters doubles team of Mackenzie Krava and Leila Nasri.  They drew a very tough doubles duo from East Grand Forks that earned themselves the 4th seed in the tournament.  “Mack and Leila have been peaking at the right time and playing great tennis as of late, but this team was just too much for them today and knocked them out of the tournament in straight sets,” commented Lill.

Mia Marsh and Ashtyn Lill played some of their best tennis to date.  “This duo came up against a favored Detroit Lakes doubles team in the first round where Mia and Ashtyn just really stuck to what was working for them and handled the match pretty routinely at 6-4, 6-2.  Their next draw was a tricky one.  They were lined up to face the #2 seeded team in the doubles tournament from Bemidji, but a really athletic and aggressive Moorhead team upset the #2 seed and became the next team in Mia and Ashtyn's path.  This last match of the day for our girls was simply everything you could hope for.  Both teams were playing high-level, high-energy tennis.  The first set was hands-down the best set Mia and Ashtyn have played all year.  They were crisp, focused and executing shots.  They earned the first set 6-4.  The second set dipped a little bit for both teams in the level of play, but was equally as challenging and competitive as the first set.  Both teams were scrappy and determined.  After a very long set, Moorhead earned the second set in a tie-break 7-6(4), forcing a third and final set to determine which team would move on to the semifinals Thursday and which team would go home.  By this point, the girls were exhausted, as the match took nearly 3 hours to complete.  It became a game of wills and Mia and Ashtyn did not back down.  They dropped the first game of the third set, but quickly composed themselves and took back the break and the lead at 2-1.  Then they battled hard for 4 of the next 5 games to earn the final set 6-2 in a really intense match.  This win puts them into the top four and earns them a trip to the section tournament next weekend (October 16) in St. Cloud.” 

Mia and Ashtyn take the court again at 9am Thursday morning at Courts Plus in the semifinals against #3 seeded Brooklyn Broadwell and Abby Flaagen of Thief River Falls.  The teams remaining include the #1, #3, #4 seeds and unseeded Marsh/Lill.

“Today was really a great day for all of our girls,” concluded Coach Lill.  “We won the matches we should have and ran into some really tough competition.  Mia and Ashtyn snuck into the final four as an unseeded team by playing some of their best tennis and really dialing in on how to play their style of play.” 

Madison Anderson (FF) defeated Aleah Oshie (EGF) 6-4, 6-0.

Katryna Hanson (Mhd) defeated Madison Anderson (FF) 6-1, 6-0.

Isabella Abrahams (FF) defeated Jane Gudmundson (Perham) 6-0, 7-5.

Avery Skaar (TRF) defeated Isabella Abrahams (FF) 6-2, 6-0.

Katelyn Farder/Brynn Havis (EGF) defeated Mackenzie Krava/Leila Nasri (FF) 6-2, 6-0.

Mia Marsh/Ashtyn Lill (FF) defeated Siri Vagle/Ari Leitheiser (DL) 6-4, 6-4.

Mia Marsh/Ashtyn Lill (FF) defeated Sophie Swenson/Katelyn Schwantz (Mhd) 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2.