Sisters win section doubles title

Lees advance to state tourney

Two members of the Buffalo girls’ tennis team will make their first-career state tournament appearance Oct. 24-25 at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

Sisters Anna and Alaina Lee punched their ticket with a perfect 5-0 record as the No. 1 seed in this year’s Section 5AA individual tournament held this past Monday and Tuesday at Reed-Sweatt in Minneapolis.

The Lees went a perfect 3-0 in Monday’s single-elimination bracket. They opened with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins over two unseeded teams, first from Wayzata and the other from Patrick Henry. They concluded the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over No. 8 seeded Grace Bakke and Ashley Denninger of Maple Grove.

According to Head Coach Scott Larsen, the victory over the Wayzata dual set the tone for the tournament.

“Going in, Anna and Alaina were seeded No. 1 based on their skill set, and not on what they did together. Anna played No. 1 singles for us, and sometimes when you throw a team together, you get a bit of the unknown to start,” Larsen said. “The Wayzata match to begin was a tough first-round draw for them. But they showed good chemistry early, and they never looked back after that match.”

Anna, a sophomore, and Alaina, a freshman, never lost a set the entire tournament, which ended with a pair of straight-set wins in Tuesday’s championship round.

They defeated No. 4 seed Alex Repplier and Justina Palmer of Champlin Park 6-1, 6-4, and concluded with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over No. 2 seed Meadow LaDuke and Emma Thole of St. Michael-Albertville. LaDuke and Thole finished second and will also represent the section at state.

The individual state tournament kicks off Thursday, Oct. 24 and concludes Friday, Oct. 25. The team tournament will be held Wednesday, Oct. 23 – all at Baseline.

The Lees will likely be unseeded at state, but will open Thursday against a section runner-up through a random draw process.

Buffalo’s other doubles team, Ella Stevens and Ohnica Melenich, were on the difficult end of a random draw at this week’s section tourney. 

The seniors exited after one round when they lost 6-3, 6-2 to No. 3 seed Meghan Staunton and Olivia Bekala of Delano.

“That was a tough draw,” Larsen said. “They lost to a good Delano team that finished third in the section. We were disappointed they didn’t get further in the tourney, but we weren’t disappointed in their play. It was a tight match with a lot of good points.”

Buffalo’s singles players both lost their head-to-head matchups. Junior Sophie Hazen and eighth grader Kiley Herbst were both making their first-career appearance in the individual section tourney.

Hazen was defeated 6-0, 6-0 by No. 8 seed Maya Nibble of Anoka. Herbst technically earned her first-section win with a medical default victory in round one over unseeded Myranda Philpot of Minneapolis Edison. Herbst would eventually be eliminated in round two with a 6-1, 6-1 defeat to No. 6 seed Emily Carlson of Maple Grove.

 

Section 5AA

Individual Tourney

(Mon-Tues., Oct. 14-15 at Baseline)

Singles: Round 1 -- Maya Nibble (Anoka) def. Sophie Hazen (Buffalo) 6-0, 6-0; Kiley Herbst (Buffalo) def. Myranda Philpot (Minneapolis Edison) injury default. Round 2 -- Emily Carlson (Maple Grove) def. Kiley Herbst (Buffalo) 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles: Round 1 -- Anna Lee/Alaina Lee (Buffalo) def. Isabella Lance/Lauren Otto (Wayzata) 6-0, 6-0; Meghan Staunton/Olivia Bekala (Delano) def. Ohnica Melenich/Ella Stevens (Buffalo) 6-3, 6-2. Round 2 -- Anna Lee/Alaina Lee (Buffalo) def. Mai Lor/Calisna Vang (Patrick Henry) 6-0, 6-0. Round 3 -- Anna Lee/Alaina Lee (Buffalo) def. Grace Bakke/Ashley Denninger (Maple Grove) 6-1, 6-1. Round 4 -- Anna Lee/Alaina Lee (Buffalo) def. Alex Repplier/Justina Palmer (Champlin Park) 6-1, 6-4. Championship -- Anna Lee/Alaina Lee (Buffalo) def. Meadow LaDuke/Emma Thole (STMA) 7-5, 6-0.

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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