The Blake girls tennis program defeated Litchfield on Wednesday in Minneapolis to capture the Minnesota Class 1A team state championship

“I just tried to do my best,” Cohen said. “Especially for her [Brass]she was just a great role model to look up to.”

Although this year’s team is young, Ach said he was pleased with how they handled the pressure on Wednesday. He was also impressed with his team’s performance in the three doubles matches, one of which ended with a set down and was won in three sets. While Blake’s doubles have been solid this season, they have lost some points over time, Ach said.

“But once they got into this tournament, they kept raising their level,” he said.

Litchfield reached the final after a 4-3 semifinal upset of No. 2 seed Crookston. The Dragons’ only match win in the final came at No. 1 singles, when sophomore Isla Dille defeated Blake sophomore Fatemeh Vang 6-2, 6-2.

“[Dille] was very smart with her shots,” Litchfield coach Matt Draeger said. “I thought she was chasing balls and making [Vang] hit extra shots.”

As the medals and trophy were presented, Ach Brass again asked for the players’ names to be read out while medals were placed around their necks.