By Jim Rueda
MINNEAPOLIS — Briee Mercier has had some big wins for the Waseca girls tennis team this season, but none have been bigger than the one she delivered Tuesday morning.
After winning her first set 6-4, Mercier fell behind 3-0 in Set 2 against Benson’s Catherine James before rallying for another 6-4 victory at No. 2 singles. The win clinched a 5-2 dual-meet victory for the Bluejays in the first round of the Class A state tournament at Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center.
“After she got down 3-0 in the second set, we just went out and told her to be consistent and to be patient,” Waseca coach Kyle Collins said. “She already knew what she had to do, we just sort of gave her a gentle reminder. She came back strong and played well.”
Collins described the dual-meet victory as a good win for Waseca. Mercier’s teammate, Abby Collins, also had a nice win. She lost the first set 2-6 and then came back to win 6-4, 6-2 against Lauren Alsaker at third singles.
“It was nice to see Abby come back the way he did,” Collins said. “Basically, she outlasted her opponent.”
The other winners for Waseca included Lexie Ulfers and Hannah Flor at first doubles, Alicia Knoll and Tessa Krueger at second doubles and Abby Hoehn and Shanly Nelson at third doubles.
The Bluejays (18-2) meet Rochester Lourdes in a semifinal match at 8 a.m. today. The two teams kicked off the season against each other in late August with Lourdes winning 4-3.
“They won a third set against us at second doubles, and that was the difference,” Collins said of the first meeting. “Both teams have improved since then so it should be a good match.”
St. James splits
St. James coach Les Zellman made a couple of switches to strengthen his doubles lineup for the opening day of the Class A tournament, and the Saints responded with a narrow 4-3 loss to top-ranked Mounds Park Academy, followed by a 5-2 victory over seventh-rated Roseau.
“We were basically looking at trying to win four points against Mounds Park,” Zellman said. “We took our No. 2 singles player, Abby Frederickson, and paired her with one of our No. 2 doubles players, Karlee Sieve.”
Zellman put the duo in at first doubles to see if they could get a win there, but they came up short 6-1, 6-3 to Kate Roach and Lena Zagar. Roach is going for her third straight state championship in doubles this week.
The shifting of players also forced Zellman to promote McKenzie Gronewold from second doubles to fourth singles. She responded by winning both her matches in her singles debut for 2009.
“She played very, very well for us today,” Zellman said. “In fact, the whole team played well. We played a great match against some stiff competition in Mounds Park and then came back with the win against Roseau. I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”
In addition to Gronewold, St. James had a pair of doubles teams win twice. Darci Johnson and Julie Runge went 2-0 at second doubles while Kat Barrett and Caitlin Olson went 2-0 at third doubles.
St. James (22-3) will take on third-ranked Staples-Motley at noon today for the consolation championship.
Quarterfinals
Waseca 5, Benson 2
SINGLES: 1—Abby Fragodt (B) def. Danni Collins 6-1, 6-0; 2—Briee Mercier (W) def. Catherine James 6-4, 6-4; 3—Abby Collins (W) def. Lauren Alsaker 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; 4—Sara Rajewsky (B) def. Taylor Nelson 7-5, 6-0.
DOUBLES: 1—Lexie Ulfers & Hannah Flor (W) def. Chelsey Goff & Cassandra Johnson 6-2, 6-0; 2—Alica Knoll & Tessa Krueger (W) def. Ginger Breen & Hillary Wilts 7-5, 6-2; 3—Abby Hoehn & Shanly Nelson (W) def. Datriana Jensen & Amber Laten 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
Mounds Park Academy 4, St. James 3
SINGLES: 1—Taylor Washington (MPA) def. Paige Olson 6-0, 6-1; 2—Amber Washington (MPA) def. Aryn Eckstrom 6-1, 6-2; 3—Brenna Kelly (MPA) def. Rachel Lahti, 6-0, 6-0; 4—McKenzie Gronewold (SJ) def. Christa Kootz 6-3, 6-1.
DOUBLES: 1—Kate Roach & Lena Zagar (MPA) def. Abby Frederickson & Karlee Sieve 6-1, 6-3; 2—Darci Johnson & Julia Runge (SJ) def. Kendall Hart & Emma Ide 6-4, 6-4. 3—Kat Barrett & Caitlin Olson (SJ) def. Alex Roberts & Mackenzie Melton 6-0, 7-6 (7-5).
Consolation semifinals
St. James 5, Roseau 2
SINGLES: 1—Abby Ness (R) def. Paige Olson 3-6, 6-2, 6-0; 2—Aryn Eckstrom (SJ) def. Taylor McFarlane 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; 3—Amanda Monkman, (R) def. Rachel Lahti 7-5, 6-4; 4—McKenzie Gronewold (SJ) def. Jessica Rose 6-4, 6-3.
DOUBLES: 1—Abby Frederickson & Karlee Sieve (SJ) def. Amy Olson & Ingrid Mlodzik 6-3, 6-1; 2—Darci Johnson & Julia Runge (SJ) def. Katie Olson & Megan Foley 6-2, 6-1; 3—Kat Barrett & Caitlin Olson (SJ) def. Emily Hallie & Andrea Johnson 6-3, 7-5.
