Ellie Colbeck, Mia Marsh, Mackenzie Krava, Lexy Samuelson and Lexi Goldenstein all graduated, but returning seniors Leila Nasri, Karley Braeger and Cyntreya Lockett, returning juniors Isabella Abrahams, Hannah Anderson and Clara Stephan, and returning freshman Ashtyn Lill provide some excellent options for a lineup.  Freshmen Ruby Ellison and Hattie Fullhart will also be in the mix.

“We are looking forward to a great season,” said Lill.  “We graduated some key players from our lineup last year and had a couple athletes transfer, so we’re filling gaps and looking quite different this fall.  We’ve got a great nucleus of girls that are hungry to work hard and improve.  A lot of summer work was put in by so many of our girls, so it will be exciting to see how our lineup shakes out.  We have a lot of changes in players and have no returning doubles teams, so we’re looking to see what fits us best and we have many girls on the cusp of our top ten.  It’s going to be an exciting season of Otter tennis!”

Coach Lill sees Bemidji as the Section 8AA favorite, with Brainerd the top team in the Central Lakes Conference.