It took a total team effort last Thursday evening and nearly three hours, but the Becker girls tennis team knocked off perennial power Foley by a score of 4-3 to earn the chance to play in the Section Final Four and a chance at the state tennis tournament.  The win avenged an early season loss to the Falcons, who had handily defeated the Bulldogs 6-1.

“The girls really have been playing their best tennis, and that was the case on Thursday night,” Coach Nate Bucher said. “We always have really great competitions against Foley and even though they won our first meeting at the very beginning of the season 6-1, both teams always know it could end up in the other team’s favor on another night.”

In the south sub-section finals win over the Falcons, Becker was able to win three singles matchups that each went three sets.  The match itself started at 7:30 p.m. and didn’t end until 10:17 p.m. at the Sartell Sta-Fit tennis bubble.

Number two player Ayla Brown won a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 match to give Becker its first singles victory, followed by Dani Nuest’s come from behind, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 nail biter in the #3 match.

“Dani played an outstanding three set match that was somewhere in the neighborhood of three hours,” Bucher said. “She was hitting the ball the best she’s hit all year!”

Bucher said that Nuest’s opponent is a tough competitor who literally tracks down every ball and keeps it in play, making her difficult to beat. 

“So Dani had to go deep into the point before she could come away with a winner or forced error,” Bucher said of the marathon match.

Picking up the final singles win for Becker was Lauren Croal, who scored a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

In the doubles category, Jazlyn Toedter and Julia Peterson won their #1 team match which was the difference maker for the Bulldogs and good enough for the 4-3 upset. Set scores for their match were 6-3, 6-4.

“We love competing against Foley and this is exactly what we were working towards throughout the season,” Bucher said. “We also didn’t have the pressure to win like Foley did, which gave us a greater opportunity to hit a little more free.”

Willmar

In order to earn a berth against the Falcons in the sub-section finals, Becker had to first take on the Willmar Cardinals and the Bulldogs came away with the 6-1 win earlier Thursday.

It was a clean sweep of the singles matches for Becker, with Maddie Moe, Brown, Nuest and Croal picking up wins in straight sets.

In the doubles matches, Faith Gott and Madison Bass teamed up in the #2 spot for a 6-2, 6-2 victory before Kennedy Drehmel and Lily Anderson dominated their #3 opponent 6-0, 6-3 to seal the win.

“We always talk about winning and losing as a team,” Bucher said. “It takes every single person to play their position even if they don’t come away with a win.”

Individuals

In addition to the team competition, the Bulldogs also participated in the individual sub-section tournament last Friday and Saturday.

Maddie Moe captured the south sub-section singles title with a total of four match wins from her #2 seed position.

Moe’s match scores were 6-0, 6-0 over her Sauk Rapids opponent, followed by a 6-2, 6-0 win over Olivia Bauerly of St. Cloud Tech.  She also picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win over Allison Bruhn from Willmar and a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Faith Simon of Annandale. Moe will now compete today (Saturday) in the Section Finals for the chance to go to the state tournament.

In the doubles competition, Dani Nuest and Ayla Brown teamed up to place second in the South Sub-Section and they will also compete in the Section Finals for a chance at the state tournament.

EGF

The Bulldogs opened team section play on Friday against East Grand Forks at 2:30 p.m. Should the Bulldogs win, they will face the winner of the St. Cloud Crush / Bemidji semifinal match for the chance to compete at the state team tennis tournament.