VIRGINIA—The Rock Ridge girls’ tennis team had a near-perfect day on Tuesday at the Section 7AA North Individual Tennis Tournament.
Wolverine players went a combined 11-1 on the day and sent two doubles teams and one singles player into next week’s 7AA final four to be held next week at the Rogers Tennis Club.
In doubles, the overall top-seeded Wolverine duo of Mayme Scott and Alli Fink cruised through all three matches to claim the North’s No. 1 seed while the second seeded team of Ayla Troutwine and Mattelyn Seppi fought a tough three-setter in their final match, ultimately finishing 3-0 as well to claim the North’s No. 2 seed.
In singles, sixth-seeded sophomore Nina Paulsen breezed through three rounds of play to claim the North’s No. 2 seed. On the other side of the bracket, 12th-seeded Emmi Peterson won her first two matches, but fell short of advancing to the final four, falling in her final match to the top-seed from Hermantown.
With Scott, Fink, Troutwine, Seppi and Paulsen all moving into the next week, Wolverine co-head coaches Jessica Kralich and Kortney Rosati said it was about as close to a perfect day as the team could get.
“Individuals is so difficult,” Rosati said. “We know what to expect when it comes to the team side of things but with individuals you could see just about anything. There’s a lot of exciting, close matches and it makes for some upsets. Look at our singles players being seeded sixth and 12th but we still got one through and got another one really close. That shows how exciting it can be.
“Overall the girls come into individuals knowing that this is for them and it’s not for the team. Ultimately it’s up to them how far they want to go and I think all of our girls today showed that they want to go far.”
For the top-seeded pair of Fink and Scott, last year’s section run ended just a touch too early for the pair when they finished third, one spot below a state tournament berth. Hoping to make up for that this year, the duo looked unstoppable through their first three matches, starting with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Denfeld’s Lexie Hardy-Toms and Vanessa Pascone.
In the second round, they cruised to victory over the No. 8 team from Hibbing in Erin McCormick and Bella Jaynes 6-2, 6-1. In their final match of the day, Scott and Fink secured their spot in next week’s final four with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Grand Rapids/Greenway’s Mercury Bischoff and Ryleigh Sherlock.
Looking at the results, their coaches believe Fink and Scott’s deep run from a year ago played a big part in Tuesday’s dominant success.
“They got to dip their toes into it last year playing as a doubles team,” Kralich said. “We knew coming into this year they wanted to team up again and that really helped us work with them and give them some time to play together throughout the season. They picked up on some strategy and I think they wanted to use that experience from last year to carry them through this year.
“They came in knowing they just missed it by a spot last year,” Rosati added. “It’s hard not to think about what could’ve been when you miss it by one match so I think that got the fire going under their butt and that’s really been pushing them this year.”
On the other side of the doubles bracket, Seppi and Troutwine cruised in their opener, winning 6-0, 6-0 over the No. 15 team Evie Sullivan and Rylee Kalkbrenner of Hermantown. In the second round, it was another straight sets as they downed Rylie Goranson and Raegan Grayson, the No. 7 team from Cloquet 6-1, 6-4.
Troutwine and Seppi were finally pushed in their last match of the day, taking on Duluth East’s Christina Duncan and Harriet Hill with a spot in the final four on the line. The sixth-seeded Greyhound pair dropped the first set 6-0, but found some momentum in the second set to even things up, 6-2.
Forced to a winner-take-all third, Troutwine and Seppi found that extra gear and were able to close things out in the third, 6-2.
Primarily doubles players throughout the season, this is the first time the pair were able to team up for individuals and their coaches praised their ability to push through hard matches.
“They’re fighters,” Kralich said. “They like to get themselves into some difficult matches but they know how to buckle down and push through in the end.”
“They don’t give up,” Rosati added. “They keep pushing and when they need to win, they know how to pull it out. This was their first time playing individuals together and it can be nerve racking the first time and they did really well, especially for playing three matches in a day.”
In other doubles action, both Hibbing teams went 1-1 on the day. Third-seeded Opal Valeri and Heidi Rasch started with a 7-5, 6-4 win over GRG’s Natalie Wick and Abby Zimmer before falling to East’s Duncan and Hill in the second round. McCormick and Jaynes started their day with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Hermantown’s Sophia Piede and Lucy Grzbowski before being eliminated by Fink and Scott in their next match.
In singles, Paulsen faced little struggle in her first match, beating the No. 11 seed from North Branch Rebekah Wurdemann 6-1, 6-0. Moving into the next round, she faced third-seeded Kenedi Koland from Hibbing. Paulsen took the first set convincingly and then edged out Koland in the second to advance, 6-1, 6-4. She’d face another Bluejacket in the third round, the No. 7 player Mya McKenny and played another strong match, moving into the second week with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
“She’s just an all-around athlete,” Rosati said of Paulsen. She’s incredibly strong. This is a good confidence booster for her because you look at the seedings and it’s easy to get in your head about how things are supposed to go. You might think you’re not supposed to beat some of these girls but it’s really up to how you play that day. Nina played so strong and I think this should be a sign to her that she can show up and win big games like that.”
On the other side of the singles bracket, Peterson picked up an early upset when looking by the numbers, taking down the fifth-seeded player in Emilie Mattinen of Cloquet 6-0, 6-3. In her second match, she faced off with No. 4 Charlotte Moss of Grand Rapids/Greenway and fought back from a set down to keep her run alive 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Taking on top-seeded Campbell Amundson in her final match, Peterson ran out of steam as the Hermantown ace ran by Peterson 6-1, 6-0 to end the sophomore’s run. Despite the loss, it was another solid showing from a Wolverine singles player who spent most of their season playing doubles.
“Everyone comes into individuals wanting to play doubles but the reality is you need two people to still play singles,” Kralich said. “Emma has played maybe one or two singles matches all year and then she comes out and plays so well. I was so impressed. We’re proud of her as coaches with the way she played and handled herself. She really showed us that she knows what she’s doing and she’s just an excellent athlete for us.”
In other local singles play, McKenny fought her way to third round to face Paulsen by downing Duluth East’s Cedar Fischer in the first round 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 before beating North Branch’s Paulina Rossini 7-5, 6-4. Koland started off with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Hermantown’s Alee Devlieger before falling to Paulsen in the second round.
Sending all but one player into next week’s final four, the Wolverine coaches praised their players’ stamina. Playing through three matches on Tuesday with another set to go Thursday and a possible team championship in play on Saturday, Rock Ridge placed heavy emphasis on endurance and drive coming into sections.
“We always talk about that come section time,” Rosati said. “The teams we’re going to be playing will be athletic and they’re going to be able to run through three sets. If you tire out before them, they’re going to outplay you so we always make sure we’re ready with the running and the sprinting and keeping up that athleticism so you can play a full day.
“They need to have the drive too,” Kralich added. “They have to know this isn’t the regular season where you get another match if you lose. If you don’t come ready to win, then that’s it. Finding ways to keep pushing and keep playing is what it’s all about.”
The Section 7AA individual final four is set for Monday in Rogers.
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