Mia and Ashtyn entered the day as underdogs as the only unseeded team in the final four.  First up for Mia and Ashtyn was the #3 seeded duo of Brooklyn Broadwell and Abby Flaagen of Thief River Falls.  “This team is made up of their usual number 1 singles player and their top doubles player,” explained Fergus Falls Head Coach Jamie Lill.  “They were unbelievably consistent and solid in all aspects of the game.  Especially challenging for our girls was the pace of their serves, but Mia and Ashtyn were able to block many of them back and stay on track with their cross court returns.  After seeing the level of play as this match progressed and the girls dropped the first set 6-1, we set a goal for the second set to get a hold of serve and to earn two games, both of which we did.  Mia and Ashtyn were simply outmatched against this tough team, but they really handled the pressure well and battled in each game.”  TRF ended up taking this match 6-1, 6-2 and went on to win the tournament handily. 

Next up for Fergus Falls was the 3rd place match against #4 seeded Katelyn Farder and Brynn Havis from East Grand Forks. “This match was very high quality for our girls,” said Lill.  “Mia and Ashtyn have a fairly different style of play than most of the teams still competing in the sub-section and section tournament.  Where many teams are very powerful and aggressive at all times, Mia and Ashtyn tend to pick their times to be aggressive and are more willing to lob and work the points.  We don't have the overpowering serves or pace of these teams.  What these girls sure do have is the patience, drive and will to work hard and grind for each and every point.  Mia and Ashtyn started this match on serve and stuck with their opponents’ game for game.  At 3-4, EGF rattled off a couple straight games to earn the first set 6-3.  Farder and Havis started out the second set really on fire and took a quick lead, going up 4-1.  However, Mia and Ashtyn weren't done yet.  They battled their way back to 3-4, then 4-5 and 5-6 before dropping a close last game to lose the match 6-3, 7-5.  This was just an all-around great match for our girls.  They handled the pace and variety of shots well.” 

The Fergus Falls duo will now look ahead to the section tournament on Saturday, October 16 in St. Cloud.  Marsh and Lill will come in as the #4 seed from the north and will be slated to play the #1 seed from the south in the first round Saturday morning.  “We'll spend this week prepping for this match-up by throwing a lot of pace and variety at Mia and Ashtyn in practice,” added Coach Lill.