Fairmont girls tennis earns state team bid
ST. PETER — State group qualifiers without precedent for more than twenty years.
Abi Peyman mobilized for a three-set triumph at fourth singles to cover the Class A No. 6-positioned Fairmont Cardinals' 4-3 victory over the No. 7-positioned St. James Area Saints for the Section 2A group tennis title Thursday at the Swanson Indoor Tennis Center on the Gustavus Adolphus College grounds.
Fairmont (18-2), the Big South Conference champion, will convey its first serve in quite a while in the Class A state group contest on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis. The quarterfinal double meet, against an adversary still up in the air, will occur at either 8 a.m., 10 a.m., early afternoon or 2 p.m.
Unexpectedly, the cardiovascular Cardinals accomplished an extraordinariness by running the occasional range by means of four successive 4-3 prevailing upon choices the enduring stalwart Saints.
"We stayed with the setup that assisted us with winning 17 double meets preceding the sectional finals and the Big South title this season," said Fairmont colleague mentor Tim Slama. "That's all there is to it."
St. James Area lead trainer Les Zellmann decided on his second of three potential arrangements in the sectional finale, and indeed, fell one group point modest.
"We needed to attempt an alternate setup today since we hadn't had the option to beat Fairmont during our past three gatherings," a smiling Zellmann said. "Our young ladies squeezed them directly down to the seventh and last match, yet couldn't get that fourth point.
"I'm pleased with the work that each of our young ladies gave us today."
"My heart was almost hammering out of my chest during the last match," said Fairmont lead trainer Laura Olsen. "What an extraordinary exertion by all of our young ladies today."
"My heart was almost hammering out of my chest during the last match," said Fairmont lead trainer Laura Olsen. "What an extraordinary exertion by all of our young ladies today."
Peyman, just a sophomore, nonetheless, appeared to flourish off the strain of the sectional title's result laying on her expansive shoulders.
St. James Area sophomore Alexis Brekken, who played No. 2 pairs during the Saints' 5-2 elimination round triumph over Blue Earth Area prior Thursday, posted a 6-4 opening-set triumph over Peyman and constructed a 3-0 lead in the subsequent fragment.
The hard-hitting Peyman replied by rolling out match dominates in four of the following six games to close her shortfall to Brekken to 5-4. The Cardinals' rebound kid hung together three additional successes straight to catch the subsequent set, 7-5, to compel an unequivocal third set — the remainder of three during the sectional finale.
"I started glancing around (the indoor air pocket) and saw the greater part of my partners were off the court, so I speculated that perhaps the meet would descend to my match," said Peyman. "This whole group has endeavored to arrive, so I wasn't going to let them down.
"I similar to having tension on me in that kind of circumstance, and feeling the pressure of the group."
Peyman took care of off the enthusiastic power among the Cardinal loyal at the indoor tennis place — notwithstanding pretzels and natural product cowhide — during the changeover and stomped out of the entryway to a 3-0 lead over Brekken in the third set.
Brekken, be that as it may, combat back to net a help break to limit the hole to 3-2 preceding Peyman raised her degree of play to roll out three successive successes to push the Fairmont young ladies tennis program to the Class A state group rivalry.
Maggy Totzke and Briana Joseph marked the Cardinals to a speedy 2-0 lead in the sectional group record from the Nos. 3 and 2 situations in the singles section. Maggy Totzke gathered Fairmont's underlying count through consecutive 6-0 set triumphs over Maya Kulseth, while Joseph conveyed a 6-0, 6-1 choice over Mykela Hanson.
The Saints, be that as it may, countered when Sailor Mohlenbrock and Allison Bluedorn outslugged the Cardinals' Ellie Hernes and Lauren Davis at No. 1 duplicates in a decent to-the-last-shot 7-5, 6-4 conflict.
St. James Area senior Jaelyn Haler, who's positioned exclusively in the best 10 in Class A, then, at that point, satisfied her elevated charging by presenting back-on back 6-1 set successes over the hard-hitting Claire Nemmers at No. 1 singles.
Hitched at 2-all, Anika Haugen and Johanna Petschke outlived Mika Wessels and Mariah Mireles in one of the finale's three-setters. Incidentally, the Saints and Cardinals struggled to a record six three-set matches in the Big South Conference title meet.
Haugen and Petschke bounced back from a mid 4-3 first-set shortage with a critical break to ultimately accumulate a 7-5 triumph.
Wessels and Mireles, be that as it may, mobilized for a 6-0 second-set choice before Haugen and Petschke got their aggregate revitalizing surge of energy. The Cardinals' No. 3 couple conveyed a 6-3 third-set success to inch the red-and-white ahead 3-2 in the group record.
The Saints' Keyana Haler and Eva Romsdahl then, at that point, turned around the course of their subsequent copies match with Libby Totzke and Hope Klanderud. Haler and Romsdahl asserted the initial set by a 6-3 choice before Libby Totzke and Klanderud countered with a 6-1 second-set success. Haler and Romsdahl changed a 3-2 deficiency in the third set into a 4-3 edge on the strength of a help break on the way to a 6-4 triumph to even the title meet at 3-all.
Fairmont, St. James Area, Blue Earth Area and River Valley — all sectional group semifinalists — return to contend in the Section 2A Individual Meet at 9 a.m. today back at the Swanson Indoor Tennis Center in St. Peter.
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Area 2A Team Meet
Title
Fairmont 4, St. James Area 3
Singles Bracket
• Jaelyn Haler (SJA) def. Claire Nemmers, 6-1, 6-1.
• Briana Joseph (FMT) def. Mykela Hanson, 6-0, 6-1.
• Maggy Totzke (FMT) def. Maya Kulseth, 6-0, 6-0.
• Abi Peyman (FMT) def. Alexis Brekken, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Copies Bracket
• Sailor Mohlenbrock-Allison Bluedorn (SJA) def. Lauren Davis-Ellie Hernes, 7-5, 6-4.
• Keyana Haler-Eva Romsdahl (SJA) def. Libby Totzke-Hope Klanderud, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
• Anika Haugen-Johanna Petschke (FMT) def. Mika Wessels-Mariah Mireles, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3.
*
Elimination rounds
Fairmont 6, River Valley 1
Singles Bracket
• Claire Nemmers (FMT) def. Brooklyn Moldan, 7-5, 6-1.
• Kaydince Thoms (RV) def. Briana Joseph, 2-6, 6-1, (10-8).
• Maggy Totzke (FMT) def. Taylor Berkner, 6-2, 6-0.
• Abi Peyman (FMT) def. Courtlyn Runck, 6-2, 6-0.
Copies Bracket
• Ellie Hernes-Lauren Davis (FMT) def. Maya Nelson-Erika Lozano, 6-4, 6-0.
• Libby Totzke-Hope Klanderud (FMT) def. Brissa Hernandez-Alexis Garza, 6-0, 6-0.
• Anika Haugen-Johanna Petschke (FMT) def. Sydne Wahl-Kiera Lafferty, 6-0, 6-3.
*
St. James Area 5, Blue Earth Area 2
Singles Bracket
• Jaelyn Haler (SJA) def. Marissa Benz, 6-1, 6-0.
• Sailor Mohlenbrock (SJA) def. Addison Armstrong, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.
• Kylie Rosenau (BEA) def. Eva Romsdahl, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
• Olivia Dutton (BEA) def. Maya Kulseth, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4).
Duplicates Bracket
• Keyana Haler-Allison Bluedorn (SJA) def. Beauty Hanson-Allie Lopez, 6-2, 6-1.
• Mykela Hanson-Alexis Brekken (SJA) def. Ella Survis-Lauren Survis, 6-4, 3-6, (11-9).
• Mika Wessels-Mariah Mireles (SJA) def. Song Schrader-Ashlyn Klinkner, 6-1, 6-1.
