The singles matches went on first.  Isabella Abrahams was seeded #4 in the tournament after a successful season at the top singles spot.  She got a tough draw in Claire Kimman from Little Falls.  The two played late in August with Bella earning the match in a third set tie-break, so we knew this was going to be a close matchup.  Bella came out of the gate very strong, moving Claire around well and dictating play, especially on her service games.  As the first set played on, Claire began hitting amazing short corners and really displayed a clean all-around game.  Claire ended up winning a very tight first set 7-6(8-6) before earning the second set 6-3.  Bella came out ready to play today and she played very well.  Claire just had an answer for most of Bella's winning shots.  She seemed to get to everything and send back a winner of her own.  The results weren't what we wanted for Bella today, but she played well and worked her tail off the entire match.  It was a great match and Bella finished up her high school career playing solid tennis. 

Unseeded Ruby Ellison took to the court in her singles match as the underdog against the #6 seed from Detroit Lakes in Anna Askelson.  We suspected going into the match that this was a good draw for Ruby as Bella had good success against her earlier this season, and that held true.  Ruby did a great job of playing clean and offensive tennis to earn herself a 6-2, 6-2 straight set win and a trip to the next round.  In the next round, Ruby faced the #3 seed Madison Anderson of Moorhead.  We were excited for this matchup as both girls are very heavy hitters.  Ruby thrives on pace and Madi has plenty of it.  Ruby scraped and gutted out a very solid first set 7-5 against a very strong opponent.  Unfortunately, Madi defaulted after the first set.  This win puts Ruby through to the semifinal round tomorrow and secured her a spot at the section tournament in Sartell next weekend. 

In doubles action, Layla Zosel and Kaia Ness drew the #5 seed from Brainerd, Lydia Omberg and Brooklyn Dietz.  Kaia knew a little of what to expect as she paired with Ruby Ellison to play this pair earlier this season.  They are a very aggressive and hard-hitting duo.  Layla and Kaia started slow and lost the first set pretty routinely, but they did not go away.  They battled.  They began stroking winners and going for shots in the second set and earned themselves a very respectable three games against some very stiff competition, dropping the match 6-0, 6-3.  This was a great chance for some on-court subsection tournament play for these girls and an experience to learn from and help them grow as players. 

Our other doubles team of Hattie Fullhart and Ashtyn Lill entered the tournament as the #3 seed.  In the first round they drew an unseeded team from Alexandria in Meredith Sundby and Madalyn Husfeldt.  Hattie and Ashtyn actually started pretty slow today, or rather, a little too fast.  They started the match making many unforced errors and just needed to calm down a bit and settle into the match, which they did.  They earned a first round victory 6-2, 6-1.  This win paired them up with the #6 seed from Little Falls in Elise Ballou and Jenna Athman.  We knew from seeing them earlier this season as singles players that this duo was going to be a challenge.  And they were.  Ashtyn and Hattie competed as well as they ever have.  They didn't necessarily play their best tennis, but their energy level was maxed and carried them through this match.  They ended up winning 6-1, 6-4, but it actually felt a lot closer than that.  The first game alone took 13 minutes and it felt like the score was deuce all day.  Ashtyn and Hattie did a great job of playing the big points well and taking care of business.  This second round win also puts this pair into the semifinals tomorrow and secures their trip to the section tournament as well. 

Today was a good day for Otter tennis.  Ruby and the duo of Ashtyn and Hattie will all play two matches tomorrow beginning at noon.  These matches will determine the seeds 1-4 that the girls will take into the section tournament next weekend.