MINNEAPOLIS — If you had told Waseca junior Lexie Ulfers back in August that her tennis team would finish second in the state, she knows exactly how she would have reacted.
“I would have laughed,” she said Wednesday. “We had lost a lot of good players so I would have thought that was pretty far-fetched.”
Far-fetched or not, Ulfers and her teammates broke new ground at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center Wednesday, becoming the first Waseca tennis team — boys or girls — to finish as high as second in the state.
The Bluejays opened the final day of the Class A girls tennis tournament by upsetting second-ranked Rochester Lourdes 4-3. They finished by succumbing to top-ranked Mounds Park Academy 6-1 in the finals.
Ulfers and partner Hannah Flor had the decisive win against Lourdes, breaking a 3-3 team tie with 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win at No. 1 doubles. The duo was behind 5-2 in the second set before rallying for the win.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Ulfers admits. “By the time it got to 5-5 (in the second set) we knew that the meet was tied. Once we got to the tiebreaker we just told each other to stay aggressive, to go after every shot, and whatever happens, happens.”
In the championship dual, Waseca’s top singles player, Danni Collins, had to take on No. 1-ranked Taylor Washington of MPA. Washington proved dominant with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
“I knew she was going to be good and, instead of focusing on winning or losing, I told myself it was privilege to play her in the state finals. I just said I should go out and play my game and do as well as I could.”
The only winner for the Bluejays against MPA was No. 4 singles player Taylor Nelson. The sophomore, who also had a win against Lourdes, defeated Christa Kootz 6-1, 6-4.
Nelson credited solid ground strokes and good footwork for her two wins on Wednesday.
The first-year varsity player spent time in the doubles lineup during the season but said she prefers singles.
“That wasn’t me at all,” Nelson said of doubles. “I didn’t feel comfortable there. My game is better suited to singles.
“But this was so exciting to be up here, not only playing at state but playing for a state championship. I don’t know if any of us thought it would be possible at the beginning of the season but we all just kept working hard and began believing in ourselves.”
Waseca ends its most successful season ever with a 17-3 record.
Class A semifinals
Waseca 4, Rochester Lourdes 3
SINGLES: 1—Courtney Rust (RL) def. Danni Collins 6-2, 6-2; 2—Margaret Pearson (RL) def. Briee Mercier 6-1, 6-2; 3—Brittany Alexander (RL) def. Abby Collins (W) 6-4, 6-1; 4—Taylor Nelson (W) def. Sofia Terzic 6-2, 6-2.
DOUBLES: 1—Lexie Ulfers & Hannah Flor (W) def. Kristen Brandhagen & Veronica Grande 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); 2—Alicia Knoll & Tessa Krueger (W) def. Megan Jans & Annie Wente 7-5, 6-2; 3—Abby Hoehn & Shanly Nelson (W) def. Lucy Hansen & Rachel Morice 6-3, 6-4.
Class A championship
Mounds Park Academy 6, Waseca 1
SINGLES: 1—Taylor Washington (MPA) def. D. Collins 6-0, 6-0; 2—Amber Washington (MPA) def. Mercier 6-0, 6-2; 3—Brenna Kelly (MPA) def. A. Collins 6-0, 6-0; 4—T. Nelson (W) def. Christa Kootz 6-1, 6-4.
DOUBLES: 1—Kate Roach & Lena Zagar (MPA) def. Ulfers & Flor 6-1, 6-0; 2—Kendall Hart & Emma Ide (MPA) def. Knoll & Krueger 7-5, 6-3; 3—Alex Roberts & Mackenzie Melton (MPA) def. Hoehn & S. Nelson 6-1, 6-2.
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