Girls tennis: Litchfield falls to Blake in Class A final – West Central Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS – After an emotionally draining state semifinal win over Crookston, the Litchfield girls tennis team faced a quick turnaround and had to play its best against Blake in the Class A state championship.

The Bears, who entered the state meet as the top seed and defending champions in the state, stopped third-seeded Litchfield with a 6-1 win Wednesday at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center to secure their second straight Class A state championship .

“I love the way we competed,” Dragons head coach Matt Draeger said. “I thought we had a chance to win a few more points, but that didn’t happen today.”

Mike Ach, Blake’s head coach, spoke fondly of Draeger and his team after the title game.

“It’s always a tough battle against Matt (Draeger) and Litchfield,” Ach said. “They are well trained, they compete hard and they have a lot of good athletes.”

Draeger, whose team played a grueling regular-season schedule, knew his team’s preparation was good, but one aspect that’s difficult to prepare for once you get into the depths of the postseason is that Emotions that come with a big victory.

Michael Lyne/West Central Tribune

Earlier Wednesday, the Dragons defeated second-seeded Crookston 4-3 in the state semifinals.

“We have been preparing for this all year,” said Draeger. “But I don’t think you can take into account the emotions that existed in the first game.”

From time to time you might even need a bit of luck to knock out a reigning state champion.

“We made sure they worked,” Draeger said. “You have to hope they have a day off and you have a great day. That wasn’t today.”

Isla Dille capped her unbeaten streak in the team portion of the Class A state tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Blake’s Fatemeh Vang.

The Dragons’ sophomore was ranked eighth in the final Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association Class A poll. Vang, also a sophomore, placed fourth in the final poll.

“(Fatemeh) is a really good player,” Dille said. “It was a good game.”

Dille will compete in the singles portion of the Class A state tournament, which begins at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center. She is the fourth seed and will play Waseca’s Vivian Mader in the opening round.

“I feel good about it,” said Dille.

After two games on Wednesday and a total of three games in the last two days, recovery will be crucial for Dille, according to Draeger.

“In terms of talent she is there, in terms of confidence she is there, everything is there,” said Draeger. “But will she have the stamina and enough gas in the tank to fight tomorrow? … We’ll see.”

Emma Knudsen and Molly Patten, Litchfield’s No. 1 doubles team, also will compete in the doubles portion of the Class A state tournament. The seniors and sophomores are seeded fifth and will play unseeded Tali Bellefy and Meg Santini of Holy Family at 10 a.m. Thursday.

“It’s a pretty intense double draw,” Draeger said. “You’ll have your hands full.”

And even though the Dragons came up short, the pressure on them mounted heading into the state tournament.

Dille was proud of herself and her teammates for the work they put in throughout the season to get to Minneapolis.

“We worked really hard this season,” Dille said. “Coming here was great.”

Fifth-seeded St. James defeated the Thunder Hawks in the Class A fifth-place match at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center.

In Montevideo, two games went into the third set.

Claire Carlson of the Saints won 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (9) in No. 4 singles against Carlee Axford of Montevideo. Alivia Romsdahl and Ellie Anderson of Saint James earned a 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (6) victory in No. 1 doubles against Gwyn Smiens and Lily Eisenlohr of the Thunder Hawks.

The unseeded Thunder Hawks earned three singles victories, two of them in three-set tiebreakers, and defeated unseeded Providence Academy in the Class A consolation semifinals Tuesday night at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center.

Ashley Klaassen, a junior ranked No. 2 in singles, won 6-2, 1-6, 10-5 over MaryJane Whitaker of the Lions. Carlee Axford, a senior ranked No. 4 singles, earned a 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 victory over Whitney Whitaker of Providence Academy. Brooke Lindeman, a senior ranked No. 1 singles, won 6-1, 6-1 over Julia Tennison of the Lions.

Kylieann Johnson and Teagan Epema won No. 3 doubles for Montevideo. The junior and senior duo won 6-0, 6-1 against Leia Gable and Caroline Dierberger of Providence Academy.

(1) Delaney Flanigan/Brigitta Nelson, PA, def. Gwyn Smiens/Lily Eisenlohr, 6-2, 6-3 … (2) Annabelle Whitaker/Bernadette Von Dohlen, PA, def. Megan Macziewski/Hallie Helgeson, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 10-5 … (3) Kylieann Johnson/Teagan Epema, M, def. Leia Gable/Caroline Dierberger, 6-0, 6-1